Planning Approval Rate in Richmond upon Thames

Richmond upon Thames is in the stricter third of English authorities, granting 80% of the applications it decides (rank 274th of 310). That puts it somewhat stricter than the England average — 80% approved against an England average of 87%. Within London it is the 20th most approving of 34 local planning authorities, where the regional average is 82.5%. Refusals are fairly frequent here: 383 of its 1,916 decisions were refusals (20%). On the split by scale it is somewhat more lenient on major schemes than on small ones: 90.9% of major developments approved versus 81% of householder and other small-scale work, from 11 major decisions.

On timing it is a little faster than average, deciding 96.1% of applications within the statutory period against 90.6% nationally. Its figures rest on one of the heavier caseloads of 1,916 decisions over 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, where the typical English authority decides around 783. Among its London neighbours it sits between Tower Hamlets (81.2%, more approving) and Lambeth (79.9%, stricter). For context in London, Hammersmith and Fulham approves the most (97.2%) and Barking and Dagenham the least (66.2%).