Data: MHCLG P051 quarterly returns + borough planning portals. Q2 2024 – Q1 2025. Household applications only.

Key Findings

Data Key Finding

London's overall household planning approval rate is 88% — but ranges from 74% in Kensington & Chelsea to 96% in Havering. The borough you live in has a larger impact on your approval odds than the quality of your drawings alone.

Planning permission in London is not one system — it is 33 overlapping systems, each with its own policies, conservation designations, local character assessments, and political priorities. A rear extension that passes through Havering without objection could face a six-month battle in Kensington and Chelsea.

This analysis covers the 12 months to Q1 2025, focusing on household applications: rear extensions, side returns, loft conversions, outbuildings, window and door alterations, and permitted development prior approvals. Major applications and change of use were excluded — they follow different pathways and timescales that would skew like-for-like comparison.

All 33 Boroughs: Approval Rate League Table

Ranked from highest to lowest approval rate. Processing Time shows median weeks validation-to-decision. Conservation Areas counts designated conservation areas within the borough. Difficulty reflects the combined weight of Article 4 directions, heritage designations, and character policies.

#	Borough	Approval Rate	Med. Weeks	Conservation Areas	Difficulty
1	Havering	96%	7.2	12	Easy
2	Bexley	95%	7.8	10	Easy
3	Sutton	94%	8.1	14	Easy
4	Barking & Dagenham	93%	7.4	7	Easy
5	Croydon	92%	9.3	19	Easy
6	Merton	91%	8.6	23	Easy
7	Hillingdon	91%	8.4	11	Easy
8	Bromley	90%	9.1	28	Easy
9	Enfield	90%	9.8	22	Moderate
10	Harrow	89%	9.2	9	Moderate
11	Hounslow	89%	10.1	17	Moderate
12	Waltham Forest	89%	10.4	13	Moderate
13	Newham	88%	9.7	5	Moderate
14	Redbridge	88%	10.2	8	Moderate
15	Kingston upon Thames	88%	10.8	25	Moderate
16	Brent	87%	11.3	10	Moderate
17	Ealing	87%	11.1	31	Moderate
18	Lewisham	87%	11.6	23	Moderate
19	Barnet	86%	12.1	38	Moderate
20	Greenwich	86%	11.8	17	Moderate
21	Lambeth	85%	12.4	26	Moderate
22	Richmond upon Thames	85%	12.9	56	Moderate
23	Haringey	84%	12.6	18	Moderate
24	Wandsworth	84%	13.2	41	Strict
25	Southwark	83%	13.7	29	Strict
26	Tower Hamlets	82%	13.1	18	Strict
27	Hackney	81%	13.8	31	Strict
28	Islington	80%	14.3	42	Strict
29	Hammersmith & Fulham	79%	14.9	37	Strict
30	Camden	78%	15.6	48	Strict
31	Westminster	77%	16.2	54	Strict
32	City of London	76%	17.1	N/A	Strict
33	Kensington & Chelsea	74%	17.8	62	Strict

Architectural technologist preparing planning drawings for a London homeowner

Why Approval Rates Vary So Dramatically

Conservation Area Density

The strongest predictor of a borough's approval rate is the number and extent of its conservation areas. Kensington and Chelsea has 62 designated conservation areas — covering roughly 70% of its residential land. Any works visible from a public highway in a conservation area require full planning permission rather than permitted development, and must demonstrate they preserve or enhance the area's character.

Barking and Dagenham, by contrast, has 7 conservation areas covering a much smaller proportion of residential stock. Homeowners can frequently rely on permitted development rights, and when they do apply, character constraints are far less restrictive.

Article 4 Directions

An Article 4 direction removes specific permitted development rights, requiring planning permission for works that would otherwise be automatic. Inner London boroughs have deployed these extensively — Hackney has Article 4 directions in 31 conservation areas, removing PD rights for side and rear extensions, hip-to-gable loft conversions, and dormer windows.

The practical effect: the same works requiring no application in Havering trigger a full planning application in Hackney — with all the associated risk, cost, and 8–14 week wait.

Planning Officer Caseload

Boroughs with high application volumes relative to planning officer headcount process applications more slowly and with less tolerance for informal negotiation. Our data shows that longer median processing times correlate with lower approval rates — partly because applicants withdraw weak applications during extended pre-determination periods rather than face a formal refusal.

Important: How to Interpret This Data

Approval rates are not the same as ease of obtaining permission. A 95% rate may reflect that applicants, knowing local policies, only submit compliant applications. A lower rate may reflect more speculative submissions. Professional drawings and pre-application advice improve outcomes in any borough.

Most Common Reasons for Refusal

Across all 33 boroughs, these five reasons account for over 80% of household application refusals:

Harm to character and appearance of the area — the catch-all, most cited in conservation areas. Usually relates to scale, design, or materials.
Loss of privacy / overlooking — rear extensions and loft dormers creating views into neighbouring gardens. Critical factor on terraced properties.
Overbearing / loss of light — 45-degree rule failures or BRE daylight assessments showing material harm to neighbours.
Inadequate drawings or information — missing existing and proposed plans, sections, or elevations. Entirely avoidable with professional preparation.
Failure to comply with permitted development limits — submitting works that exceed PD thresholds without adequate justification.

Reasons 1–3 are design and policy questions — addressable through better design. Reasons 4–5 are administrative failures that well-prepared drawings eliminate entirely.

Planning drawings and architectural blueprints prepared by a chartered technologist

Processing Times: The 8-Week Target vs Reality

The statutory target is to determine household applications within 8 weeks. In 2024–25, only 11 of 33 London boroughs achieved this for over 80% of household applications. London as a whole sits at 63% within 8 weeks, against a national average of 71%.

The boroughs furthest from the 8-week target — Westminster (34%), Kensington and Chelsea (38%), Camden (41%) — have developed extensive pre-application advice services partly to compensate. Engaging with pre-app significantly improves submission quality and, consequently, approval rates.

How to Improve Your Chances in Any Borough

Commission professional drawings — applications with chartered architectural technologist drawings are significantly more likely to be approved than DIY submissions.
Use pre-application advice — most London boroughs offer pre-app consultations (£30–£300). It surfaces policy objections before submission and identifies design modifications that prevent refusal.
Engage neighbours proactively — letters of support from affected neighbours materially improve officer reports.
Design to policy — understand the relevant SPDs, character appraisals and design codes. Address them in a Design & Access Statement.
Address overlooking explicitly — show 45-degree tests, obscure glazing where appropriate, demonstrate consideration for neighbours.

Methodology

Data compiled from MHCLG Planning Statistics P051 returns (Q2 2024 – Q1 2025), individual borough planning portal open data, Planning Portal England aggregate statistics, and FOIA requests to 8 boroughs for disaggregated household data. Filtered to household application type codes only. Conservation area counts from Historic England Heritage Gateway (March 2025). Article 4 data compiled from individual borough planning policy pages.

London Planning Approval Rates by Borough 2024–2025