Lewisham vs Guildford — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Lewisham and Guildford? A side-by-side comparison based on 35,847 combined decisions.

Last updated: March 2026

Lewisham: 82.2%

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

Guildford: 81.7%

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

Overall approval rates

Lewisham (18,896 decided)

82.2%

Guildford (16,951 decided)

81.7%

By application type

Advertisement — Lewisham (266 decided)

77.8%

Advertisement — Guildford (295 decided)

84.4%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Lewisham (2,583 decided)

82.7%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Guildford (1,726 decided)

75.2%

Discharge of Conditions — Lewisham (79 decided)

97.5%

Discharge of Conditions — Guildford (2,261 decided)

75.9%

Full — Lewisham (11,462 decided)

78.4%

Full — Guildford (8,667 decided)

81.6%

Listed Building — Lewisham (190 decided)

90.0%

Listed Building — Guildford (523 decided)

88.1%

Other — Lewisham (1,088 decided)

84.3%

Other — Guildford (1,523 decided)

73.8%

Prior Approval — Lewisham (293 decided)

40.3%

Trees — Lewisham (2,935 decided)

99.7%

Trees — Guildford (1,956 decided)

98.6%

What the numbers mean

There is a 0.5 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

Lewisham full data Guildford full data