However, due to the challenging conditions of the current UK property market, many decided to improve rather than move. The problem is, getting planning permission in the UK is not always the easiest task, and it can be extremely frustrating to wait for approval before renovating your home.
But, did you know that where you live can also have an impact on whether you get approved or not?
Leader Floors looked at eight years of planning application data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, to calculate the percentage of applications that were accepted and rejected.
From this data, the City of London was revealed to be the best place to live for home renovators as it’s the easiest area to win home planning permission, while Maldon is the hardest. In London, a huge 98.7% of planning permission requests were granted, while 40.4% of applications were denied in Maldon, across an eight-year period.
The top 5 easiest places to get planning permission
Numerous factors affect how likely an application will be approved, as different areas have specific building regulations, planning constraints and development targets. Residents in the City of London are the most likely to have their application granted, with a 98.7% approval rate. This is great news for residents looking to make small improvements to their homes.
The Borough of Copeland in western Cumbria was a close second, with 96.4% of planning permission requests approved over eight years. This was followed by the Isles of Scilly (95.6%), off the beautiful Cornwall coast, Richmondshire in North Yorkshire (95.5%) and Wigan in the Greater Manchester area (95.4%).
The top 5 hardest places to get planning permission
Maldon proved to be the most difficult place to get planning permission, with 40.4% of applications denied. This was followed closely by East Hertfordshire, with 39% of applicants refused over 8 years. Hillingdon (38.9%), Enfield (37.4%) and Harrow (37%) were also all very hard places to get planning permission approved.
Local authority submitting the most requests
The firm also looked at which local authorities were submitting the most planning permission requests and found that Cornwall residents are the ones who want to renovate their homes or build something new the most, with 106,995 total requests.
Unsurprisingly, Westminster, the bustling government area in Central London, submitted 90,902 planning permission requests to alter and add structures. Wiltshire (47,084), Shropshire (45,804) and Wandsworth (45,134) were also high on our list of the most submitted requests, which is understandable when you consider how much more space and land these places have compared to London and other major cities.
Local authority submitting the least requests
Located just off the Cornwall coast, the Isles of Scilly have submitted the least amount of planning permission requests over the last 8 years. 946 requests were submitted, with 944 of those being minor improvements and just 2 for major changes. As we mentioned earlier, 95.6% of those requests were approved, so it’s a good place to be for those who like making small improvements to their home.
Local authority with the most granted & denied major requests
The provision for a major development request would be a site area of over 0.5 Hectares or floor space of over 1,000sqm. The local authority which granted the most major requests were Cornwall, with 6399 major requests approved. Birmingham came in second with 5609 major requests granted, and this was followed closely by Leeds with 5387 requests, Wiltshire with 4983 approved requests and Manchester with 4170 requests.
Interestingly, Cornwall was also the top place with the most denied major requests too, with 1374 refused - so you definitely need a bit of luck on your side here. Cheshire East had 1043 requests denied, while Maldon didn’t approve of 728 major requests. 707 major requests for Shropshire were denied, and 660 requests in Wiltshire didn’t get the go-ahead.
Local authority with the most granted & denied minor requests
Anything smaller than the requirements for major developments would be classed as minor requests. So if the floor space is under 1,000sqm or the site area is less than 1 Hectares this would be a minor development. Once again, Cornwall came out on top with 85,692 minor requests granted, followed by Westminster with 77,494, Wandsworth with 38,485, Shropshire with 35,986 approved requests and Wiltshire with 35,954 requested granted.
Both Cornwall (13,530 denied) and Westminster (11,155 denied) also refused the most minor requests in the UK over the last 8 years. Barnet came in third after refusing 9820 requests followed by Croydon with 9151 denied requests and Brent with 8154 requests not granted.
Planning Applications and Covid-19
During Covid-19, there was a significant shift in planning permission applications.
Lockdown one - 23rd March 2020 - 10th May 2020 (lockdown eased)
120,645 total planning permission requests submitted
98,933 total granted requests
21,712 total denied requests
82.00% of all requests granted
Lockdown two - 31st October 2020 - 2nd December 2020
112,020 total planning permission requests submitted
91,532 total granted requests
20,488 total denied requests
81.71% of all requests granted
Lockdown three - 4th January 2021 - 8th March 2021 (Lockdown eased)
111,267 total planning permission requests submitted
90,975 total granted requests
20,292 total denied requests
81.76% of all requests granted
During Covid and the various lockdowns, it seems that planning permission request submissions drastically dropped in comparison to pre-covid. But why?
Many planning permissions that were due to expire during a lockdown were extended thanks to construction delays that Covid caused, meaning they didn’t need to re-apply.
As we can see from the data above, more planning permission requests were submitted in the first lockdown, this is likely because, at the time, no one knew to what extent workers were going to stop. The numbers then plummeted during the second and third lockdown when it was clear that many tradespeople weren’t able to work as much.
Now things are getting back to normal, it is expected that there will be a boom in planning permission requests.
People also began taking home improvements into their own hands while they had no other options. DIY trends peaked on social media such as Instagram and TikTok and, according to a survey carried out by Aviva, 85% of 2,000 UK respondents engaged in home improvement projects during lockdown.
Statista also revealed that online sales of home improvements and gardening products rose with the sales of plants, seeds and bulbs increasing by 48.2%, paint sales increased by 47.1%, building material sales increased by 31.4%, and the number of tools and equipment bought rose by 14.7%.
Marc Husband, Leader Floors Project Design Lead, says: “With more people spending more time at home than ever before, it’s natural we’re looking for small ways to improve our surroundings. If you’re considering submitting a planning permission application, it’s worth checking out how likely it is to be approved, based on your location.
"This new data is also really insightful as it can help guide home enthusiasts on where their next big project might be if they’re looking to flip a property.”
