Elmbridge Council approves 80.7% of planning applications, based on 54,667 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Elmbridge sits 4.3 percentage points below the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 2,273 decided applications, Elmbridge Council approved 71.7% of planning applications in 2025. Across 54,667 decisions on record (June 1987 to September 2026), the overall approval rate in Elmbridge is 80.7%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Elmbridge council planning portal records · Data to 29 September 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 Elmbridge.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 40,742 | 9,585 | 50,327 | 81.0% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 5,648 | 1,365 | 7,013 | 80.5% |
| Trees | 4,546 | 1,597 | 6,143 | 74.0% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 2,290 | 1,425 | 3,715 | 61.6% |
| Other | 1,884 | 937 | 2,821 | 66.8% |
| Advertisement | 1,298 | 400 | 1,698 | 76.4% |
| Listed Building | 926 | 109 | 1,035 | 89.5% |
| Prior Approval | 546 | 325 | 871 | 62.7% |
| Change of Use | 5 | 263 | 268 | 1.9% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oxshott and Stoke DAbernon | 5,263 | 1,476 | 6,739 | 78.1% |
| Esher | 4,779 | 1,313 | 6,092 | 78.4% |
| Molesey East | 3,620 | 953 | 4,573 | 79.2% |
| Thames Ditton | 3,368 | 956 | 4,324 | 77.9% |
| Claygate | 3,344 | 881 | 4,225 | 79.1% |
| Walton Central | 2,918 | 753 | 3,671 | 79.5% |
| Cobham Downside | 2,579 | 605 | 3,184 | 81.0% |
| St Georges Hill | 2,498 | 642 | 3,140 | 79.6% |
| Long Ditton | 2,391 | 663 | 3,054 | 78.3% |
| Walton South | 2,287 | 588 | 2,875 | 79.5% |
| Hersham South | 2,022 | 473 | 2,495 | 81.0% |
| Weybridge St Georges Hill | 1,456 | 560 | 2,016 | 72.2% |
| Weybridge South | 1,597 | 416 | 2,013 | 79.3% |
| Cobham Fairmile | 1,607 | 385 | 1,992 | 80.7% |
| Cobham and Downside | 1,463 | 511 | 1,974 | 74.1% |
| Walton North | 1,421 | 468 | 1,889 | 75.2% |
| Hinchley Wood and Weston Green | 1,368 | 458 | 1,826 | 74.9% |
| Oatlands Park | 1,379 | 425 | 1,804 | 76.4% |
| Weybridge Riverside | 1,235 | 503 | 1,738 | 71.1% |
| Oatlands and Burwood Park | 1,251 | 405 | 1,656 | 75.5% |
| Weston Green | 1,326 | 317 | 1,643 | 80.7% |
| Hinchley Wood | 1,312 | 296 | 1,608 | 81.6% |
| Hersham Village | 1,054 | 324 | 1,378 | 76.5% |
| Weybridge North | 1,054 | 298 | 1,352 | 78.0% |
| Hersham North | 961 | 267 | 1,228 | 78.3% |
Showing top 25 of 47 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Elmbridge’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, down 6.0pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Elmbridge council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 2026/1932 Molesey West | Single storey side/rear extension, garage conversion to living space and rear pa | Approved |
| 2026/1587 Molesey West | Alteration of roof from hip to gable end, rear dormer, installation of 2no. roof | Approved |
| 2026/1927 Molesey West | Hip-to-gable roof extension incorporating a rear dormer window with juliet balco | Approved |
| 2026/1189 Esher | Remodelling of existing rear extension, including replacement of multiple roof f | Approved |
| 2026/1898 Oxshott and Stoke DAbernon | Single storey front extension, front porch extension, garage conversion to livin | Approved |
| 2026/1883 Cobham and Downside | Part two/part-single storey rear extension, roof extension to provide rooms in t | Refused |
| 2026/1882 Weybridge Riverside | Part two/part single-storey front/side extension, two storey side extension, gar | Approved |
| 2026/1886 Oxshott and Stoke DAbernon | Single storey rear extension following demolition of existing rear conservatory. | Refused |
| 2026/1159 Weybridge Riverside | Change of Use from Class E to include flexible provision for: commercial, busine | Refused |
| 2026/1668 Long Ditton | Single storey rear extension following demolition of existing rear extension and | 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 Elmbridge's 54,667 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Elmbridge's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
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Dig deeper into Elmbridge'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 Elmbridge. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 54,667 real decisions from Elmbridge 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 Elmbridge'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 54,667 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Elmbridge is 80.7%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 54,667 planning decisions from Elmbridge council. 44,132 were approved and 10,535 were refused. These figures cover every decision on record for the council, June 1987 to September 2026.
The average approval rate in Elmbridge is 80.7%, 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.
Writing about planning in Elmbridge? 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.