Camden Council approves 93.4% of planning applications, based on 25,921 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Camden sits 4.8 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 4,125 decided applications, Camden Council approved 93.8% of planning applications in 2025. The average time from validation to decision in Camden is 15.7 weeks, measured across 23,721 decided applications. Across 25,921 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Camden is 93.4%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Camden council planning portal records · Updated August 2026 · Quote freely with attribution
Enter your postcode for a free, personalised approval pattern report, based on your ward and application type.
Not all applications are treated equally. Extension types, listed building consent, and change of use applications each have very different success rates in Camden.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 16,703 | 1,183 | 17,886 | 93.4% |
| Full | 2,795 | 319 | 3,114 | 89.8% |
| Trees | 3,049 | 42 | 3,091 | 98.6% |
| Listed Building | 965 | 41 | 1,006 | 95.9% |
| Prior Approval | 307 | 87 | 394 | 77.9% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 263 | 38 | 301 | 87.4% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 122 | 5 | 127 | 96.1% |
A loft conversion in one ward can have a 90% approval rate. In the next ward, 55%. The free check tells you which side you're on, your free property report is emailed in minutes.
Check My PostcodeWard-level data reveals where planning applications are most and least likely to succeed. Officers, local policies, and neighbourhood character all play a role.
| Ward | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomsbury | 2,161 | 172 | 2,333 | 92.6% |
| Hampstead Town | 2,063 | 101 | 2,164 | 95.3% |
| Belsize | 1,702 | 101 | 1,803 | 94.4% |
| Highgate | 1,408 | 90 | 1,498 | 94.0% |
| Holborn & Covent Garden | 1,305 | 96 | 1,401 | 93.1% |
| Holborn and Covent Garden | 1,059 | 100 | 1,159 | 91.4% |
| Frognal | 1,000 | 52 | 1,052 | 95.1% |
| Regents Park | 939 | 82 | 1,021 | 92.0% |
| West Hampstead | 851 | 74 | 925 | 92.0% |
| Camden Town with Primrose Hill | 807 | 82 | 889 | 90.8% |
| Primrose Hill | 828 | 45 | 873 | 94.8% |
| Fortune Green | 743 | 75 | 818 | 90.8% |
| Kings Cross | 749 | 64 | 813 | 92.1% |
| Gospel Oak | 741 | 43 | 784 | 94.5% |
| Haverstock | 697 | 55 | 752 | 92.7% |
| Kentish Town | 644 | 58 | 702 | 91.7% |
| Frognal & Fitzjohns | 651 | 46 | 697 | 93.4% |
| Kilburn | 620 | 46 | 666 | 93.1% |
| South Hampstead | 624 | 41 | 665 | 93.8% |
| Swiss Cottage | 554 | 32 | 586 | 94.5% |
| Camden Town | 465 | 55 | 520 | 89.4% |
| Cantelowes | 410 | 44 | 454 | 90.3% |
| Kentish Town South | 381 | 40 | 421 | 90.5% |
| Camden Square | 306 | 23 | 329 | 93.0% |
| St Pancras & Somers Town | 270 | 22 | 292 | 92.5% |
Showing top 25 of 58 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Camden’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, down 4.1pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Camden council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 2026/1421/P Belsize | Roof extension with dormers, rooflights and roof terrace. | Approved |
| 2025/1610/P Highgate | Erection of a mansard roof; erection of rear extension at first floor, demolitio | Refused |
| 2026/1140/P Primrose Hill | Installation of timber deck with garden office, shed and sauna to rear garden. | Approved |
| 2026/2208/P Bloomsbury | Change of use from clinic/office (Class E) to residential (Class C3) at basement | Refused |
| 2026/2495/P Frognal | Partial infill of existing front light-well and repositioning of front staircase | Refused |
| 2026/2439/P Hampstead Town | Erection of outbuilding in rear garden and associated landscaping works. | Approved |
| 2026/2548/P Holborn and Covent Garden | Replacement of an existing air conditioning condenser at lower ground floor leve | Approved |
| 2026/2696/P Kentish Town North | Erection of mansard style roof extension with front and rear dormers and rear ro | Refused |
| 2026/1735/P Frognal | Erection of new boundary treatment to site frontage and return wall to the coach | Approved |
| 2026/2244/P Kilburn | Replacement and installation of new plant within the existing internal plant are | Approved |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your free property report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on Camden's 25,921 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Camden's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Camden's planning statistics, by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Yes. PlanningLens offers a free planning permission check for Camden. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 25,921 real decisions from Camden council. The full property-specific report is also free and emailed within minutes.
Enter your postcode on PlanningLens for a free instant check based on Camden's real planning decisions. The free property report goes further: it analyses the 20 nearest comparable decisions to your property, ward-level refusal patterns, and approval rates by application type. Free and emailed within minutes.
Based on 25,921 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Camden is 93.4%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 25,921 planning decisions from Camden council. 24,205 were approved and 1,716 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Camden is 93.4%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the free PlanningLens postcode check to get a personalised score.
The average time from validation to decision in Camden is 15.7 weeks, measured across 23,721 decided applications. This PlanningLens figure is calculated from decision dates published by Camden council itself, reflecting actual elapsed time rather than statutory targets.
Writing about planning in Camden? These figures are free to republish with attribution. Copy the one-line citation, or paste the stat box into any website, CMS or newsletter, it carries its own styling and links back to this page for verification.