Planning Approval Rate in Bristol, City of

Bristol, City of is in the stricter third of English authorities, granting 86% of the applications it decides (rank 206th of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 86% approved against an England average of 87%. Within South West it is the 20th most approving of 27 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 89.5%. Refusals are fairly frequent here: 295 of its 2,112 decisions were refusals (14%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 92.5% of major developments approved versus 89.7% of householder and other small-scale work, from 53 major decisions.

On timing it is a little slower than average, deciding 87.4% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on one of the heavier caseloads of 2,112 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its South West neighbours it sits between Torridge (86.7%, more approving) and Torbay (85.6%, stricter). For context in South West, Cheltenham approves the most (96.5%) and Gloucester the least (80.5%).