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Croydon vs Guildford — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Croydon and Guildford? A side-by-side comparison based on 35,721 combined decisions.

Last updated: February 2026

Croydon: 80.1%

19,625 decisions · 15,711 approved · 3,914 refused · 29 wards

Guildford: 81.8%

16,096 decisions · 13,160 approved · 2,936 refused · 21 wards

Overall approval rates

Croydon (19,625 decided)
80.1%
Guildford (16,096 decided)
81.8%

By application type

Advertisement — Croydon (354 decided)
85.6%
Advertisement — Guildford (274 decided)
85.4%
Certificate of Lawfulness — Guildford (1,637 decided)
75.0%
Discharge of Conditions — Croydon (3,598 decided)
98.1%
Discharge of Conditions — Guildford (2,143 decided)
76.5%
Full — Croydon (8,812 decided)
69.7%
Full — Guildford (8,209 decided)
81.5%
Listed Building — Croydon (59 decided)
76.3%
Listed Building — Guildford (503 decided)
88.1%
Other — Croydon (4,313 decided)
86.3%
Other — Guildford (1,448 decided)
73.8%
Prior Approval — Croydon (577 decided)
40.7%
Trees — Croydon (1,912 decided)
91.0%
Trees — Guildford (1,882 decided)
98.7%

What the numbers mean

There is a 1.7 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Croydon 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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