Bristol vs Greenwich — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Bristol and Greenwich? A side-by-side comparison based on 41,487 combined decisions.

Last updated: March 2026

Bristol: 86.9%

21,410 decisions · 18,610 approved · 2,800 refused · 34 wards

Greenwich: 80.4%

20,077 decisions · 16,136 approved · 3,941 refused · 36 wards

Overall approval rates

Bristol (21,410 decided)

86.9%

Greenwich (20,077 decided)

80.4%

By application type

Advertisement — Bristol (786 decided)

84.7%

Advertisement — Greenwich (422 decided)

80.8%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Bristol (3,281 decided)

88.1%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Greenwich (2,192 decided)

76.0%

Change of Use — Bristol (284 decided)

69.4%

Discharge of Conditions — Bristol (829 decided)

93.5%

Full — Bristol (11,772 decided)

86.0%

Full — Greenwich (7,921 decided)

71.6%

Listed Building — Bristol (1,634 decided)

91.2%

Listed Building — Greenwich (500 decided)

89.0%

Other — Bristol (304 decided)

77.6%

Other — Greenwich (5,250 decided)

90.9%

Prior Approval — Bristol (1,152 decided)

83.3%

Prior Approval — Greenwich (1,114 decided)

53.6%

Trees — Bristol (1,368 decided)

93.2%

Trees — Greenwich (2,676 decided)

98.6%

What the numbers mean

There is a 6.5 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Greenwich is the stricter of the two, which means similar applications may face higher refusal risk there. However, approval rates vary by ward and application type, so your specific situation may differ from the averages.

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See detailed data

Bristol full data Greenwich full data