Southwark vs Kingston upon Thames — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Southwark and Kingston upon Thames? A side-by-side comparison based on 34,071 combined decisions.

Last updated: March 2026

Southwark: 92.6%

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

Kingston upon Thames: 75.2%

15,415 decisions · 11,595 approved · 3,820 refused · 28 wards

Overall approval rates

Southwark (18,656 decided)

92.6%

Kingston upon Thames (15,415 decided)

75.2%

By application type

Advertisement — Southwark (676 decided)

86.1%

Advertisement — Kingston upon Thames (273 decided)

79.9%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Southwark (1,157 decided)

91.4%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Kingston upon Thames (2,510 decided)

72.8%

Change of Use — Southwark (235 decided)

82.6%

Discharge of Conditions — Kingston upon Thames (2,228 decided)

81.3%

Full — Southwark (3,406 decided)

93.4%

Full — Kingston upon Thames (8,296 decided)

73.4%

Listed Building — Southwark (907 decided)

90.6%

Listed Building — Kingston upon Thames (110 decided)

87.3%

Other — Southwark (9,551 decided)

92.1%

Other — Kingston upon Thames (873 decided)

60.0%

Prior Approval — Southwark (86 decided)

69.8%

Prior Approval — Kingston upon Thames (56 decided)

50.0%

Trees — Southwark (2,638 decided)

97.8%

Trees — Kingston upon Thames (1,069 decided)

93.3%

What the numbers mean

There is a 17.4 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

Southwark full data Kingston upon Thames full data