UK planning approval rates span 50.5% in Havering to 95.4% in Merton, a near two-fold gap between two councils operating under the same national planning framework, against a national rate of around 75%, according to LeadLinka Research data tracking more than 250 UK local planning authorities. Where an application is decided can matter almost as much as what it proposes.
Every UK planning application is decided by a local planning authority applying the same national policy framework: the National Planning Policy Framework for England, and equivalent frameworks in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Yet across the councils tracked by LeadLinka Research, the outcome of that process varied by nearly two to one in Q2 2026. Merton approved 95.4% of decided applications. Havering approved 50.5%. Both operated under the same statutory rules, with the same targets for decision speed, and in broadly the same economic conditions.
The near two-fold gap is not noise. It is consistent across councils with large enough samples to be statistically meaningful: Westminster's 83.9% approval rate came from 1,094 decisions, and Redbridge's 53.3% from 782. The pattern is real, and it is the defining feature of the data: where an application is decided matters almost as much as what it proposes.
| Council | Approval rate | Decisions |
|---|---|---|
| Merton | 95.4% | 218 |
| City of London | 93.8% | 290 |
| Tower Hamlets | 88.4% | 322 |
| Hillingdon | 84.9% | 418 |
| Islington | 85.3% | 606 |
| Westminster | 83.9% | 1,094 |
| National (all LPAs) | ~75% | more than 250 LPAs |
| Harrow | 66.1% | 372 |
| Richmond upon Thames | 64.5% | 908 |
| Middlesbrough | 56.1% | 139 |
| Redbridge | 53.3% | 782 |
| Havering | 50.5% | 410 |
The highest approval rates in Q2 2026 were concentrated in London. Merton (95.4%, 218 decisions), the City of London (93.8%, 290), Tower Hamlets (88.4%, 322), Hillingdon (84.9%, 418), Islington (85.3%, 606) and Westminster (83.9%, 1,094) all recorded approval rates materially above the national level, according to LeadLinka Research. Westminster's figure is worth singling out: at 1,094 decisions, it is the most statistically robust high-approval data point in the dataset, rather than a high rate on a small sample.
The pattern extends beyond the capital. Enfield (84.1%, 498), outside central London, and Cannock Chase (82.1%, 106) also recorded above-average approval rates, according to LeadLinka Research, demonstrating that high approval rates cluster in London but are not confined to it. High approval is a function of local plan policy and caseload composition, not simply of geography.
At the other end, several authorities approved well under two-thirds of decided applications in Q2 2026. Havering (50.5%, 410 decisions), Redbridge (53.3%, 782) and Middlesbrough (56.1%, 139) recorded the lowest rates in the dataset, with Richmond upon Thames (64.5%, 908) and Harrow (66.1%, 372) also well below the national level, according to LeadLinka Research.
The practical contrast is striking: an applicant in Havering faced roughly even odds on approval in the quarter, while an applicant in Merton could expect better than nine in ten decided applications to be approved. Both operated under the same national policy. The difference is entirely at council level, in the local plan, the development management policies, and the character of the caseload the authority routinely handles.
For anyone who has read the decision times analysis, the related finding is that speed and approval are statistically independent. Redbridge, the most restrictive council in this dataset by approval rate, is also the fastest to decide (6.6 weeks). The City of London, the most permissive, is the slowest (19.1 weeks). Optimising for speed alone leads to a restrictive council; optimising for approval alone leads to a slow one.
The two dimensions taken together, as set out in the speed and approval analysis, give a fuller picture: Enfield combines a fast decision time (7.7 weeks) with a high approval rate (84.1%), making it the strongest combined performer in the data. That combination is available, but only visible when both measures are read together.
The UK national planning approval rate of around 75% has been stable across recent quarters, according to LeadLinka Research. That stability is genuine at the aggregate level. But for developers, contractors and equipment suppliers, the aggregate is rarely the relevant figure. The decision that matters is the one made by a specific authority, and within that authority the rate can sit anywhere from barely half to over 90%.
For procurement planning, approval rate is the first-order indicator of whether a project is likely to proceed and generate a procurement window at all. Speed of decision (see the decision times analysis) determines when. Neither figure is useful without the other, and neither is usefully summarised by the national average.
Approval rate is the share of decided applications that were approved, calculated from the recorded decision outcome on each application; applications with no recorded decision are excluded. The approved flag is the value recorded by the council in its own planning system; for some authorities this includes consultation responses, permitted-development determinations, and certificate-of-lawfulness outcomes alongside conventional full and outline decisions. Council-level figures are limited to authorities with at least 30 decided applications to avoid small-sample distortion. Figures cover Q2 2026 (decisions between 1 April and 18 June 2026, a partial quarter); the national rate has held at around 75% across recent full quarters. One authority is excluded due to a known duplicate-record data-quality issue. Full methodology: leadlinka.co.uk/methodology.
Source: LeadLinka Research, "The UK Planning Postcode Lottery: Approval Rates by Council", leadlinka.co.uk/insights/uk-council-planning-approval-rates-2026, published 22 June 2026, updated 25 June 2026. Methodology and definitions: leadlinka.co.uk/methodology.
Source: LeadLinka planning applications database · more than 250 UK local planning authorities · Decisions 1 Apr – 18 Jun 2026 · ← All Insights