Updated July 2026 · Data

UK planning statistics: volumes, approval rates and decision times by council

Name: UK Planning Application Statistics by Council
Creator: SiteLens

A live snapshot of UK planning activity, built from the public planning registers SiteLens tracks across the country. Figures cover roughly the last 90 days and update as the data refreshes. Free to cite with a link to this page.

353

Councils tracked

82,421

Applications (90 days)

92%

Median approval rate

56 days

Median decision time

Busiest UK planning authorities

The councils receiving the most planning applications over the last 90 days. Volume is the clearest signal of where construction and development activity is concentrated.

#	Council	Region	Apps (90d)
1	Wiltshire Council	South West	1,382
2	Westminster City Council	London	1,277
3	Cornwall Council	South West	1,215
4	Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council	South West	1,155
5	Dorset Council	South West	1,114
6	Leeds City Council	Yorkshire	1,072
7	London Borough of Bromley	London	978
8	London Borough of Barnet	London	813
9	Cheshire East Council	North West	770
10	London Borough of Richmond upon Thames	London	747
11	Greater Cambridge Shared Planning	East of England	737
12	London Borough of Camden	London	720
13	Bristol City Council	South West	718
14	City of Edinburgh Council	Edinburgh	718
15	Shropshire Council	West Midlands	696
16	Cambridge City Council	East of England	687
17	South Cambridgeshire District Council	East of England	672
18	Liverpool City Council	North West	663
19	Babergh District Council	East of England	660
20	London Borough of Southwark	London	653
21	Bradford Metropolitan District Council	Yorkshire	641
22	Bath and North East Somerset Council	South West	616
23	London Borough of Redbridge	London	608
24	Maidstone Borough Council	South East	589
25	East Riding of Yorkshire Council	Yorkshire	566

Highest approval rates

Among councils with a meaningful volume of decisions (20+ decided in the window), where a planning application is most likely to be approved. Approval rate is the share of decided applications that were granted.

#	Council	Region	Approval rate
1	Moray Council	North East Scotland	100%
2	London Borough of Richmond upon Thames	London	100%
3	Tendring District Council	East of England	100%
4	London Borough of Islington	London	100%
5	London Borough of Redbridge	London	100%
6	Inverclyde Council	West Scotland	100%
7	South Ayrshire Council	West Scotland	100%
8	Shetland Islands Council	Edinburgh	100%
9	Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council	South Wales	100%
10	North East Lincolnshire Council	Yorkshire	100%
11	Blaby District Council	East Midlands	99%
12	Canterbury City Council	South East	99%

Lowest approval rates

The councils where applications are most likely to be refused, again among those with 20+ decisions. A lower rate can reflect local policy, greenbelt or conservation constraints, or the mix of applications received.

#	Council	Region	Approval rate
1	Oadby and Wigston Borough Council	East Midlands	55%
2	Stafford Borough Council	West Midlands	56%
3	London Borough of Newham	London	70%
4	London Borough of Waltham Forest	London	70%
5	Buckinghamshire Council	South East	73%
6	Brent Council	London	74%
7	Luton Borough Council	East of England	75%
8	Bedford Borough Council	East of England	75%
9	West Lothian Council	Central Scotland	75%
10	Torbay Council	South West	77%
11	Bassetlaw District Council	East Midlands	78%
12	Gravesham Borough Council	South East	78%

Slowest councils to decide

Median time from receipt to decision, among councils with 20+ recent decisions. Knowing where decisions run long helps the supply chain time its approach to a project.

#	Council	Region	Median decision
1	North Northamptonshire Council	East Midlands	94 days
2	Stoke-on-Trent City Council	West Midlands	93 days
3	Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council	South East	92 days
4	Luton Borough Council	East of England	84 days
5	Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council	Yorkshire	80 days
6	Cherwell District Council	South East	79 days
7	Rossendale Borough Council	North West	78 days
8	East Lindsey District Council	East Midlands	77 days
9	Fenland District Council	East of England	76 days
10	East Hertfordshire District Council	East of England	75 days
11	Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council	North West	74 days
12	Cheshire West and Chester Council	North West	74 days

Fastest councils to decide

#	Council	Region	Median decision
1	London Borough of Richmond upon Thames	London	2 days
2	London Borough of Islington	London	2 days
3	London Borough of Redbridge	London	3 days
4	South Downs National Park Authority	South East	16 days
5	City of London Corporation	London	18 days
6	Babergh District Council	East of England	24 days
7	Tendring District Council	East of England	29 days
8	East Ayrshire Council	South West Scotland	30 days
9	Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council	East of England	31 days
10	Moray Council	North East Scotland	32 days
11	Sevenoaks District Council	South East	34 days
12	Cambridge City Council	East of England	35 days

Methodology

Figures are derived from the public planning registers SiteLens monitors across UK local planning authorities, covering roughly the last 90 days. Volumes count applications active (validated or received) in the period. Approval rate is the share of applications decided in the period that were granted. Decision time is the median span from receipt to decision over those decisions. Rankings of approval rate and decision time are limited to councils with at least 50 applications and 20 decisions in the window, so small-sample noise does not distort them. Coverage expands as more registers are tracked, so totals are a floor, not a complete national count. You can explore any council in detail on its SiteLens council page.

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