Bradford refuses nearly 1 in 6 planning applications. That is above the national rate.
Bradford Council received 4,133 planning applications submitted in 2025 and refused 15.8% of those it decided, against a national refusal rate of 12.4%. That is roughly 1 in 6 applications turned down here, compared with about 1 in 8 nationally. The town is also a dormer hotspot: dormer extensions made up 12.4% of all applications, more than twice the national share of 6.0%.
The year in one line
Bradford turns down planning applications at above the national rate, refusing close to 1 in 6, and files dormer extensions at more than twice the national share, the planning signature of a town adding space into its roofs.
What Bradford Is Building
Extensions dominate, and dormers set the town apart.
Home extensions were by far the most common project type in applications submitted to Bradford Council in 2025, at 33.6% of all applications, above the national share of 29.1%. The figure that distinguishes Bradford is the dormer: dormer extensions made up 12.4% of applications submitted, against a national average of 6.0%, more than twice the national share. This is the application mix of a town adding headroom and floorspace into the roofs of its existing housing stock.
Planning applications submitted to Bradford Council in 2025, by project type.
The dormer effect
Bradford files dormer extensions at 2.1 times the national share. Home extensions run at 1.2 times the national share. The town's planning workload is shaped by owners expanding the homes they already have, particularly upward into the roof.
The council verdict
A harder yes to get.
Of the 3,098 decided applications in the analysed sample, Bradford Council approved 84.2% and refused 15.8%, a refusal rate above the 12.4% national norm. That is about 1 in 6 applications turned down, where nationally the figure is closer to 1 in 8.
About 1 in 6 Bradford applications was turned down.
of decided applications were refused, against a national rate of 12.4%. That is about 1 in 6 turned down here, compared with about 1 in 8 nationally.
Bradford vs The National Norm
A town building up, not out.
Set Bradford's application mix against the national average and one pattern stands out: dormers. Bradford files dormer extensions at 2.1 times the national share, and home extensions also run above the norm. The categories Bradford does less of include demolition, loft conversions, and retrospective work, all running well below the national share.
Bradford files dormer extensions at more than twice the national share, the clearest sign of a town expanding its homes upward into the roof rather than outward.
Each bar is Bradford's share of applications submitted in 2025; the marker is the national share. The dormer is the town's defining outlier.
Meanwhile, the market
Affordable, even as the building work piles up.
The town remains affordable by national standards, even as owners keep extending and converting the homes they already have.
Bradford's planning record in 2025 tells a clear story. Dormers run at more than twice the national rate, and the council refuses applications at above the national average. For anyone buying to improve in Bradford, the lesson is straightforward: design your project carefully, because 1 in 6 applications here is turned down, and the refusal rate has been consistent across both years of data.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to Bradford Council in 2025 (volume), with rates and shares from the analysed sample, classified from each application's published description. Shares are each category as a percentage of all applications in scope.
Decision Rates
Approval rate is approvals as a share of approvals plus refusals. The national benchmarks are computed the same way across all decided applications in England and Wales.
Sales Data
HM Land Registry Price Paid Data for the Bradford post town, the latest full year's completions.
The Real Applications
Open the planning applications behind the numbers.
These are real applications decided in Bradford in the latest full year, from the dormer extensions the town files at twice the national rate to change-of-use cases and refusals. Open any one to see its full record.
35 Bronshill Grove, Allerton BD15 7AJ
Dormer windows, a hip to gable roof conversion and a front porch were approved, typical of the roof-space work Bradford files at more than twice the national rate.
See this property's full record58 Swain House Crescent BD2 1HS
A front dormer with a hip to gable extension was granted, a classic example of a Bradford owner adding space into the roof.
See this property's full record9 Delph Grove, Clayton BD14 6RZ
A part two-storey, part single-storey side and rear extension with a dormer loft conversion was approved, combining the town's two most common project types.
See this property's full record1217 Great Horton Road BD7 4LT
A change of use from a dwellinghouse to a residential institution was turned down, one of the roughly 1 in 6 applications Bradford Council refused.
See this property's full record28 Plumpton Gardens BD2 1PF
A single-storey rear extension came before the council following an enforcement notice, where work is regularised after the fact.
See this property's full record62 Victor Road BD9 4QP
A single-storey rear extension, part of the home extensions that make up 33.6% of Bradford's applications, was approved.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Bradford?
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