Southwark vs Newham — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Southwark and Newham? A side-by-side comparison based on 30,861 combined decisions.

Last updated: March 2026

Southwark: 92.8%

15,959 decisions · 14,813 approved · 1,146 refused · 23 wards

Newham: 82.7%

14,902 decisions · 12,320 approved · 2,582 refused · 28 wards

Overall approval rates

Southwark (15,959 decided)

92.8%

Newham (14,902 decided)

82.7%

By application type

Advertisement — Southwark (590 decided)

87.1%

Advertisement — Newham (438 decided)

92.9%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Southwark (1,012 decided)

92.0%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Newham (2,446 decided)

76.3%

Change of Use — Southwark (207 decided)

81.6%

Change of Use — Newham (804 decided)

75.6%

Discharge of Conditions — Newham (322 decided)

93.5%

Full — Southwark (2,871 decided)

93.5%

Full — Newham (6,648 decided)

78.0%

Listed Building — Southwark (770 decided)

91.0%

Listed Building — Newham (54 decided)

94.4%

Other — Southwark (8,147 decided)

92.3%

Other — Newham (3,680 decided)

95.2%

Prior Approval — Southwark (81 decided)

71.6%

Prior Approval — Newham (170 decided)

46.5%

Trees — Southwark (2,281 decided)

98.0%

Trees — Newham (340 decided)

92.9%

What the numbers mean

There is a 10.1 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Newham 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 Newham full data