County Durham vs Kingston upon Thames — planning approval compared
How do planning outcomes differ between County Durham and Kingston upon Thames? A side-by-side comparison based on 14,999 combined decisions.
Last updated: February 2026
County Durham: 94.9%
7,693 decisions · 7,297 approved · 396 refused · 113 wards
Kingston upon Thames: 77.5%
7,306 decisions · 5,659 approved · 1,647 refused · 28 wards
Overall approval rates
County Durham
94.9%
Kingston upon Thames
77.5%
By application type
Advertisement — County Durham
97.0%
Advertisement — Kingston upon Thames
89.2%
Certificate of Lawfulness — County Durham
79.4%
Certificate of Lawfulness — Kingston upon Thames
76.1%
Change of Use — County Durham
92.3%
Discharge of Conditions — County Durham
98.7%
Discharge of Conditions — Kingston upon Thames
83.3%
Full — County Durham
94.2%
Full — Kingston upon Thames
76.1%
Listed Building — County Durham
98.0%
Listed Building — Kingston upon Thames
82.0%
Other — County Durham
95.1%
Other — Kingston upon Thames
59.2%
Prior Approval — County Durham
92.2%
Prior Approval — Kingston upon Thames
51.7%
Trees — County Durham
93.3%
Trees — Kingston upon Thames
94.7%
What the numbers mean
There is a 17.4 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Kingston upon Thames 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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