Planning Approval Rate in South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is somewhat stricter than the England average for planning permission: it approves 81.9% of applications and decides 86.1% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #260 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in South Gloucestershire, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across South Gloucestershire.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 1,561 decisions (1,278 granted, 283 refused).
How South Gloucestershire compares
| South Gloucestershire | 81.9% |
| South West average | 89.5% |
| England average | 87% |
South Gloucestershire is 5.1 points stricter than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in South Gloucestershire?
South Gloucestershire is in the stricter third of English authorities, granting 81.9% of the applications it decides (rank 260th of 310). That puts it somewhat stricter than the England average — 81.9% approved against an England average of 87%. Within South West it is the 26th most approving of 27 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 89.5%. Refusals are fairly frequent here: 283 of its 1,561 decisions were refusals (18.1%). On the split by scale it is somewhat more lenient on major schemes than on small ones: 93.3% of major developments approved versus 81.6% of householder and other small-scale work, from 75 major decisions.
On timing it is a little slower than average, deciding 86.1% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on one of the heavier caseloads of 1,561 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 Teignbridge (82.2%, more approving) and Gloucester (80.5%, stricter). For context in South West, Cheltenham approves the most (96.5%) and Gloucester the least (80.5%).
Compare South Gloucestershire with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in South West. See the full South West league table.
Approval rate by development scale in South Gloucestershire
Live planning activity in South Gloucestershire
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 4 September 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in South Gloucestershire
Where planning activity concentrates in South Gloucestershire
Recent applications in South Gloucestershire
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch South Gloucestershire page.
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Planning permission in South Gloucestershire: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in South Gloucestershire?
On the latest official figures South Gloucestershire is somewhat stricter than the England average and in the stricter third of English authorities, approving 81.9% of the 1,561 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does South Gloucestershire approve or refuse?
Refusals are fairly frequent here: 81.9% approved and 18.1% refused — 1,278 granted and 283 refused of 1,561 decisions, with major schemes approved at 93.3% and householder and other work at 81.6%.
How quickly does South Gloucestershire decide planning applications?
On timing South Gloucestershire is a little slower than average: 86.1% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is South Gloucestershire stricter than nearby councils?
South Gloucestershire's 81.9% approval rate makes it the 26th most approving of 27 authorities in South West, against a 89.5% regional average. Neighbouring Teignbridge approves 82.2% and Gloucester 80.5%.
Can I use South Gloucestershire's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application South Gloucestershire 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 South Gloucestershire 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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