Greenwich vs Bristol — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Greenwich and Bristol? A side-by-side comparison based on 38,583 combined decisions.

Last updated: March 2026

Greenwich: 80.4%

19,597 decisions · 15,750 approved · 3,847 refused · 36 wards

Bristol: 86.8%

18,986 decisions · 16,471 approved · 2,515 refused · 34 wards

Overall approval rates

Greenwich (19,597 decided)

80.4%

Bristol (18,986 decided)

86.8%

By application type

Advertisement — Greenwich (417 decided)

80.6%

Advertisement — Bristol (685 decided)

84.5%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Greenwich (2,138 decided)

76.1%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Bristol (2,986 decided)

87.4%

Change of Use — Bristol (252 decided)

70.2%

Discharge of Conditions — Bristol (728 decided)

93.0%

Full — Greenwich (7,721 decided)

71.7%

Full — Bristol (10,360 decided)

85.8%

Listed Building — Greenwich (489 decided)

88.8%

Listed Building — Bristol (1,436 decided)

91.6%

Other — Greenwich (5,119 decided)

90.9%

Other — Bristol (271 decided)

76.4%

Prior Approval — Greenwich (1,081 decided)

53.0%

Prior Approval — Bristol (1,030 decided)

83.3%

Trees — Greenwich (2,630 decided)

98.6%

Trees — Bristol (1,238 decided)

93.7%

What the numbers mean

There is a 6.4 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

Greenwich full data Bristol full data