Planning Approval Rate in Bexley
Bexley is close to the England average for planning permission: it approves 89.5% of applications and decides 97.4% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #135 of 310 English authorities. This page sets out how hard it is to get planning permission in Bexley, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours — from official government figures plus the live planning activity PlanWatch tracks across Bexley.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 1,314 decisions (1,176 granted, 138 refused).
How Bexley compares
| Bexley | 89.5% |
| London average | 82.5% |
| England average | 87% |
Bexley is 2.5 points easier than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Bexley?
Bexley is a little more approving than the median English authority, granting 89.5% of the applications it decides (rank 135th of 310). That puts it close to the England average — 89.5% approved against an England average of 87%. Within London it is the 7th most approving of 34 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 82.5%. Refusals are uncommon here: 138 of its 1,314 decisions were refusals (10.5%). On the split by scale it is far tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 76.2% of major developments approved versus 91.8% of householder and other small-scale work, from 21 major decisions.
On timing it is among the faster authorities, deciding 97.4% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on one of the heavier caseloads of 1,314 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its London neighbours it sits between Wandsworth (89.6%, more approving) and Camden (89.4%, stricter). For context in London, Hammersmith and Fulham approves the most (97.2%) and Barking and Dagenham the least (66.2%).
Compare Bexley with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in London. See the full London league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Bexley
Live planning activity in Bexley
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 20 August 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Bexley
Where planning activity concentrates in Bexley
Recent applications in Bexley
Track live decisions near a postcode on the PlanWatch Bexley page.
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Planning permission in Bexley: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Bexley?
On the latest official figures Bexley is close to the England average and a little more approving than the median English authority, approving 89.5% of the 1,314 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Bexley approve or refuse?
Refusals are uncommon here: 89.5% approved and 10.5% refused — 1,176 granted and 138 refused of 1,314 decisions, with major schemes approved at 76.2% and householder and other work at 91.8%.
How quickly does Bexley decide planning applications?
On timing Bexley is among the faster authorities: 97.4% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Bexley stricter than nearby councils?
Bexley's 89.5% approval rate makes it the 7th most approving of 34 authorities in London, against a 82.5% regional average. Neighbouring Wandsworth approves 89.6% and Camden 89.4%.
Can I use Bexley's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Bexley 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 Bexley 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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