Planning Approval Rate in Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is markedly stricter than the typical English council for planning permission: it approves 75.1% of applications and decides 87.9% of them within the statutory time limit, ranking #300 of 310 English authorities. This is the approval-rate record for Kingston upon Thames: how hard it is to get planning permission, how quickly the council decides, and how it compares with its neighbours, from official government statistics.
Looking for a particular application rather than the statistics? Search Kingston upon Thames planning applications by postcode on PlanWatch.
Source: official MHCLG planning statistics (PS2), 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025. Based on 1,151 decisions (864 granted, 287 refused).
How Kingston upon Thames compares
| Kingston upon Thames | 75.1% |
| London average | 82.5% |
| England average | 87% |
Kingston upon Thames is 11.9 points stricter than the England average.
How hard is it to get planning permission in Kingston upon Thames?
Kingston upon Thames is among the ten per cent strictest authorities in England, granting 75.1% of the applications it decides (rank 300th of 310). That puts it markedly stricter than the typical English council — 75.1% approved against an England average of 87%. Within London it is the 29th most approving of 34 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 82.5%. Refusals are fairly frequent here: 287 of its 1,151 decisions were refusals (24.9%). On the split by scale it is somewhat tougher on major schemes than on small ones: 73.3% of major developments approved versus 80% of householder and other small-scale work, from 30 major decisions.
On timing it is a little slower than average, deciding 87.9% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on a mid-sized caseload of 1,151 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its London neighbours it sits between Croydon (75.2%, more approving) and Waltham Forest (74.4%, stricter). For context in London, Hammersmith and Fulham approves the most (97.2%) and Barking and Dagenham the least (66.2%).
Compare Kingston upon Thames with nearby councils
Approval rates for other authorities in London. See the full London league table.
Approval rate by development scale in Kingston upon Thames
Live planning activity in Kingston upon Thames
From the latest planning data PlanWatch holds (to 12 October 2026). These are the records we've collected — the freshness the annual government table lacks.
What people apply for in Kingston upon Thames
Where planning activity concentrates in Kingston upon Thames
Recent applications in Kingston upon Thames
This is a sample, not the full register. Search Kingston upon Thames planning applications by postcode.
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Planning permission in Kingston upon Thames: common questions
Is it hard to get planning permission in Kingston upon Thames?
On the latest official figures Kingston upon Thames is markedly stricter than the typical English council and among the ten per cent strictest authorities in England, approving 75.1% of the 1,151 applications it decided over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025 against 87% for England.
What percentage of planning applications does Kingston upon Thames approve or refuse?
Refusals are fairly frequent here: 75.1% approved and 24.9% refused — 864 granted and 287 refused of 1,151 decisions, with major schemes approved at 73.3% and householder and other work at 80%.
How quickly does Kingston upon Thames decide planning applications?
On timing Kingston upon Thames is a little slower than average: 87.9% of applications were decided within the statutory period — eight weeks for most, thirteen for major schemes — against 90.6% nationally.
Is Kingston upon Thames stricter than nearby councils?
Kingston upon Thames's 75.1% approval rate makes it the 29th most approving of 34 authorities in London, against a 82.5% regional average. Neighbouring Croydon approves 75.2% and Waltham Forest 74.4%.
Can I use Kingston upon Thames's approval rate to predict whether my application will be approved?
No — the approval rate is a historic average across every application Kingston upon Thames 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 Kingston upon Thames 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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