Gravesham Council approves 82.7% of planning applications, based on 1,673 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Gravesham sits 5.9 percentage points below the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 651 decided applications, Gravesham Council approved 81.9% of planning applications in 2025. Across 1,673 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Gravesham is 82.7%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Gravesham 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 Gravesham.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 470 | 157 | 627 | 75.0% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 210 | 43 | 253 | 83.0% |
| Other | 208 | 29 | 237 | 87.8% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 202 | 10 | 212 | 95.3% |
| Trees | 163 | 0 | 163 | 100.0% |
| Prior Approval | 92 | 37 | 129 | 71.3% |
| Listed Building | 25 | 9 | 34 | 73.5% |
| Advertisement | 14 | 4 | 18 | 77.8% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Higham And Shorne | 161 | 39 | 200 | 80.5% |
| Town | 146 | 30 | 176 | 83.0% |
| Istead Rise, Cobham And Luddesdown | 148 | 26 | 174 | 85.1% |
| Meopham South And Vigo | 118 | 23 | 141 | 83.7% |
| Meopham North | 118 | 17 | 135 | 87.4% |
| Whitehill And Windmill Hill | 106 | 25 | 131 | 80.9% |
| Woodlands | 82 | 37 | 119 | 68.9% |
| Northfleet And Springhead | 79 | 17 | 96 | 82.3% |
| Pelham | 67 | 15 | 82 | 81.7% |
| Riverview Park | 66 | 7 | 73 | 90.4% |
| Painters Ash | 60 | 11 | 71 | 84.5% |
| Coldharbour And Perry Street | 51 | 11 | 62 | 82.3% |
| Chalk | 42 | 8 | 50 | 84.0% |
| Westcourt | 36 | 6 | 42 | 85.7% |
| Singlewell | 32 | 5 | 37 | 86.5% |
| Denton | 31 | 4 | 35 | 88.6% |
| Rosherville | 19 | 5 | 24 | 79.2% |
How Gravesham’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, down 1.0pp since 2023.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Gravesham council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 20260727 Whitehill And Windmill Hill | Application for a Proposed Lawful Development Certificate for the erection of a | Approved |
| 20260647 Higham And Shorne | Erection of a single storey side infill extension, alterations to fenestration, | Approved |
| 20260729 Coldharbour And Perry Street | Application for a Proposed Lawful Development Certificate; Erection of a single | Approved |
| 20260612 Riverview Park | Application for a Proposed Lawful Development Certificate; Loft conversion with | Approved |
| 20260611 Riverview Park | Erection of a first floor rear extension. | Approved |
| 20260556 Istead Rise, Cobham And Luddesdown | Extension to The Lion public house garden and associated alterations to access a | Approved |
| 20260654 Northfleet And Springhead | Erection of a front porch. | Approved |
| 20260333 Riverview Park | Erection of a single storey rear extension. | Approved |
| 20260062 Meopham North | Application for Listed Building Consent for the replacement of C20th windows and | Approved |
| 20260644 Higham And Shorne | Erection of a side/rear single storey extension. | 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 Gravesham's 1,673 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Gravesham's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Gravesham'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 Gravesham. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 1,673 real decisions from Gravesham 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 Gravesham'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 1,673 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Gravesham is 82.7%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 1,673 planning decisions from Gravesham council. 1,384 were approved and 289 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Gravesham is 82.7%, 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 Gravesham? 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.