Guildford vs Southwark — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Guildford and Southwark? A side-by-side comparison based on 32,910 combined decisions.

Last updated: March 2026

Guildford: 81.7%

16,951 decisions · 13,847 approved · 3,104 refused · 21 wards

Southwark: 92.8%

15,959 decisions · 14,813 approved · 1,146 refused · 23 wards

Overall approval rates

Guildford (16,951 decided)

81.7%

Southwark (15,959 decided)

92.8%

By application type

Advertisement — Guildford (295 decided)

84.4%

Advertisement — Southwark (590 decided)

87.1%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Guildford (1,726 decided)

75.2%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Southwark (1,012 decided)

92.0%

Change of Use — Southwark (207 decided)

81.6%

Discharge of Conditions — Guildford (2,261 decided)

75.9%

Full — Guildford (8,667 decided)

81.6%

Full — Southwark (2,871 decided)

93.5%

Listed Building — Guildford (523 decided)

88.1%

Listed Building — Southwark (770 decided)

91.0%

Other — Guildford (1,523 decided)

73.8%

Other — Southwark (8,147 decided)

92.3%

Prior Approval — Southwark (81 decided)

71.6%

Trees — Guildford (1,956 decided)

98.6%

Trees — Southwark (2,281 decided)

98.0%

What the numbers mean

There is a 11.1 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Guildford 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

Guildford full data Southwark full data