Planning permission in Cardiff
What actually happens to planning applications decided by Cardiff Council: approval rates, decision times, appeal odds and the development plan they are judged against. Figures cover 3,527 applications decided in the two years to October 2026, from the council's public planning register.
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How long does planning permission take in Cardiff?
Half of decided applications took 54 days or less from validation to decision. The middle 50% of applications took between 30 and 99 days, and 54.8% were decided inside the 8-week statutory target for minor applications. Major applications run to a 13-week target, or 16 weeks where an environmental impact assessment is required, and contested schemes take longer still.
The Cardiff local plan
The Cardiff Local Development Plan 2006 to 2026 (adopted 2016) is the development plan, supported by an extensive suite of Supplementary Planning Guidance, all read alongside Planning Policy Wales.
A replacement LDP covering 2021 to 2036 is in preparation but does not yet carry significant weight in decisions.
What tends to shape decisions here: Policy KP5 (good quality and sustainable design) is the policy most often cited on Cardiff refusals, with tree protection (EN8) and the historic environment (EN9, read with TAN 24) close behind. The adopted plan is nearing the end of its period, so its quantitative targets carry less weight than its design and amenity policies.
Source: decisions published on the Cardiff Council public planning register, two years to October 2026. Approval rate = approvals divided by approvals plus refusals; withdrawn applications and other outcomes are excluded. We track 13,389 Cardiff applications in total. Plan facts as of July 2026; always check the council's own pages for the latest position.
Planning a project in Cardiff?
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