Lewisham vs Cotswold — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Lewisham and Cotswold? A side-by-side comparison based on 34,767 combined decisions.

Last updated: March 2026

Lewisham: 82.2%

18,896 decisions · 15,540 approved · 3,356 refused · 20 wards

Cotswold: 95.4%

15,871 decisions · 15,141 approved · 730 refused · 32 wards

Overall approval rates

Lewisham (18,896 decided)

82.2%

Cotswold (15,871 decided)

95.4%

By application type

Advertisement — Lewisham (266 decided)

77.8%

Advertisement — Cotswold (119 decided)

88.2%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Lewisham (2,583 decided)

82.7%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Cotswold (359 decided)

88.9%

Discharge of Conditions — Lewisham (79 decided)

97.5%

Discharge of Conditions — Cotswold (1,996 decided)

98.5%

Full — Lewisham (11,462 decided)

78.4%

Full — Cotswold (6,408 decided)

93.4%

Listed Building — Lewisham (190 decided)

90.0%

Listed Building — Cotswold (1,636 decided)

94.6%

Other — Lewisham (1,088 decided)

84.3%

Other — Cotswold (870 decided)

86.3%

Prior Approval — Lewisham (293 decided)

40.3%

Prior Approval — Cotswold (67 decided)

92.5%

Trees — Lewisham (2,935 decided)

99.7%

Trees — Cotswold (4,416 decided)

99.8%

What the numbers mean

There is a 13.2 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Lewisham 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

Lewisham full data Cotswold full data