Planning Approval Rate in City of London
City of London is markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council for planning permission: it approves 96.2% of applications and decides 96% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #9 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in City of London, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across City of London.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 448 decisions (431 granted, 17 refused).
How City of London compares
| City of London | 96.2% |
| London average | 82.5% |
| England average | 87% |
City of London is 9.2 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in City of London?
City of London is among the ten per cent most approving authorities in England, granting 96.2% of the applications it decides (rank 9th of 310). That puts it markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council — 96.2% approved against an England average of 87%. Within London it is the 2nd most approving of 34 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 82.5%. Refusals are rare here: 17 of its 448 decisions were refusals (3.8%). On the split by scale it is about as likely to approve major schemes as small ones: 96% of major developments approved versus 96.1% of householder and other small-scale work, from 25 major decisions.
On timing it is a little faster than average, deciding 96% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a relatively light caseload of 448 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its London neighbours it sits between Hammersmith and Fulham (97.2%, more approving) and Kensington and Chelsea (93%, stricter). For context in London, Hammersmith and Fulham approves the most (97.2%) and Barking and Dagenham the least (66.2%).
Compare City of London with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in London. See the full London league table.
Approval rate by development scale in City of London
Live planning activity in City of London
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 18 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in City of London
Where planning activity concentrates in City of London
Recent applications in City of London
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch City of London page.
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Planning permission in City of London: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in City of London?
On the latest official figures City of London is markedly more likely to approve than the typical English council and among the ten per cent most approving authorities in England, approving 96.2% of the 448 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does City of London approve or refuse?
Refusals are rare here: 96.2% approved and 3.8% refused — 431 granted and 17 refused of 448 decisions, with major schemes approved at 96% and householder and other work at 96.1%.
How quickly does City of London decide planning applications?
On timing City of London is a little faster than average: 96% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is City of London stricter than nearby councils?
City of London's 96.2% approval rate makes it the 2nd most approving of 34 authorities in London, against a 82.5% regional average. Neighbouring Hammersmith and Fulham approves 97.2% and Kensington and Chelsea 93%.
Can I use City of London's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application City of London decided, not a prediction for any individual application; your outcome depends on the site, the proposal, local planning policy and any objections.
Methodology & limits
Approval, refusal and in-time rates come from the government's official PS2 planning application statistics (Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government), covering 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. This dataset is England-only and published annually, so it lags live activity. Live figures are the applications PlanWatch has collected for City of London and are not a complete council register. Refusal reasons and delegated-vs-committee splits are not published in this data.
This is a historic average, not a prediction. It cannot tell you whether your application will be approved — that depends on your site, proposal, local policy and any objections.
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