Lewisham vs Southwark — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Lewisham and Southwark? A side-by-side comparison based on 37,552 combined decisions.

Last updated: March 2026

Lewisham: 82.2%

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

Southwark: 92.6%

18,656 decisions · 17,275 approved · 1,381 refused · 23 wards

Overall approval rates

Lewisham (18,896 decided)

82.2%

Southwark (18,656 decided)

92.6%

By application type

Advertisement — Lewisham (266 decided)

77.8%

Advertisement — Southwark (676 decided)

86.1%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Lewisham (2,583 decided)

82.7%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Southwark (1,157 decided)

91.4%

Change of Use — Southwark (235 decided)

82.6%

Discharge of Conditions — Lewisham (79 decided)

97.5%

Full — Lewisham (11,462 decided)

78.4%

Full — Southwark (3,406 decided)

93.4%

Listed Building — Lewisham (190 decided)

90.0%

Listed Building — Southwark (907 decided)

90.6%

Other — Lewisham (1,088 decided)

84.3%

Other — Southwark (9,551 decided)

92.1%

Prior Approval — Lewisham (293 decided)

40.3%

Prior Approval — Southwark (86 decided)

69.8%

Trees — Lewisham (2,935 decided)

99.7%

Trees — Southwark (2,638 decided)

97.8%

What the numbers mean

There is a 10.4 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 Southwark full data