Kingston upon Thames vs Cheltenham — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Kingston upon Thames and Cheltenham? A side-by-side comparison based on 14,120 combined decisions.

Last updated: February 2026

Kingston upon Thames: 77.5%

7,306 decisions · 5,659 approved · 1,647 refused · 28 wards

Cheltenham: 95.3%

6,814 decisions · 6,497 approved · 317 refused · 20 wards

Overall approval rates

Kingston upon Thames (7,306 decided)

77.5%

Cheltenham (6,814 decided)

95.3%

By application type

Advertisement — Kingston upon Thames (120 decided)

89.2%

Advertisement — Cheltenham (166 decided)

90.4%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Kingston upon Thames (1,219 decided)

76.1%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Cheltenham (31 decided)

0.0%

Change of Use — Cheltenham (64 decided)

95.3%

Discharge of Conditions — Kingston upon Thames (927 decided)

83.3%

Discharge of Conditions — Cheltenham (208 decided)

95.7%

Full — Kingston upon Thames (4,018 decided)

76.1%

Full — Cheltenham (3,740 decided)

95.1%

Listed Building — Kingston upon Thames (50 decided)

82.0%

Listed Building — Cheltenham (791 decided)

96.7%

Other — Kingston upon Thames (431 decided)

59.2%

Other — Cheltenham (1,433 decided)

98.9%

Prior Approval — Kingston upon Thames (29 decided)

51.7%

Prior Approval — Cheltenham (18 decided)

0.0%

Trees — Kingston upon Thames (512 decided)

94.7%

Trees — Cheltenham (363 decided)

96.1%

What the numbers mean

There is a 17.8 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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See detailed data

Kingston upon Thames full data Cheltenham full data