Gravesham planning approval rate
Gravesham council approved 82.7% of planning applications and refused 17.3%, based on 1,673 decisions analysed. Ranked 27th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
82.7%
overall approval rate
1,673
Decisions analysed
1,384
Approved
289
Refused
17
Wards covered
Planning in Gravesham? Check your postcode to see approval rates specific to your ward and street.
Approval rate by application type
Different application types have different approval rates in Gravesham. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
75.0%
87.8%
95.3%
100.0%
71.3%
73.5%
77.8%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Gravesham, mined from 1,673 proposal descriptions.
75.7%
74.6%
70.3%
74.1%
78.6%
78.5%
70.3%
87.0%
72.5%
71.4%
78.6%
61.5%
56.5%
68.4%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Gravesham. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Higham And Shorne
80.5%
Town
83.0%
Istead Rise, Cobham And Luddesdown
85.1%
Meopham South And Vigo
83.7%
Meopham North
87.4%
Whitehill And Windmill Hill
80.9%
Woodlands
68.9%
Northfleet And Springhead
82.3%
Pelham
81.7%
Riverview Park
90.4%
Painters Ash
84.5%
Coldharbour And Perry Street
82.3%
Chalk
84.0%
Westcourt
85.7%
Singlewell
86.5%
Denton
88.6%
Rosherville
79.2%
Wards in Gravesham
Higham And Shorne
80.5% approval · 200 decisions
Town
83.0% approval · 176 decisions
Istead Rise, Cobham And Luddesdown
85.1% approval · 174 decisions
Meopham South And Vigo
83.7% approval · 141 decisions
Meopham North
87.4% approval · 135 decisions
Whitehill And Windmill Hill
80.9% approval · 131 decisions
Woodlands
68.9% approval · 119 decisions
Northfleet And Springhead
82.3% approval · 96 decisions
Pelham
81.7% approval · 82 decisions
Riverview Park
90.4% approval · 73 decisions
Painters Ash
84.5% approval · 71 decisions
Coldharbour And Perry Street
82.3% approval · 62 decisions
Chalk
84.0% approval · 50 decisions
Westcourt
85.7% approval · 42 decisions
Singlewell
86.5% approval · 37 decisions
Denton
88.6% approval · 35 decisions
Rosherville
79.2% approval · 24 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Gravesham, showing how the council decides real applications.
Application for a Proposed Lawful Development Certificate for the erection of a · Whitehill And Windmill Hill · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Erection of a single storey side infill extension, alterations to fenestration, · Higham And Shorne · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Application for a Proposed Lawful Development Certificate; Erection of a single · Coldharbour And Perry Street · Thu 13 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Gravesham, 1 in 6 applications are refused. Your PlanningLens Full Planning Analysis gives you 17 pages of intelligence specific to your property:
✓ Ward-level approval rates for your exact area
✓ Common refusal reasons in Gravesham
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Gravesham →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Gravesham
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 1,673 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Gravesham
What is the planning approval rate in Gravesham?
Based on 1,673 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Gravesham approved 82.7% of applications and refused 17.3%. The council is ranked 27th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Gravesham?
Gravesham refuses 17.3% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 6. That is higher than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 1,673 decided applications since 2020, 289 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Gravesham have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Gravesham are in Riverview Park (90.4%), Meopham North (87.4%), and Istead Rise, Cobham And Luddesdown (85.1%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Gravesham?
The most common planning application types in Gravesham are: Full (627 decisions, 75.0% approved), Certificate of Lawfulness (253, 83.0%), and Other (237, 87.8%).
How long does a planning application take in Gravesham?
Planning applications in Gravesham take an average of 11.7 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 1,123 decisions with a recorded timeline. That is slower than the 8-week statutory target for householder applications (the statutory targets are 8 weeks for householder applications and 13 weeks for major developments). PlanningLens measures the actual time each application takes, not just the target. Gravesham decides approximately 279 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Gravesham?
You can search planning applications in Gravesham directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 1,673 historical decisions in Gravesham to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Gravesham calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Gravesham's official planning portal and analyses every published decision since January 2020. The approval rate is calculated as approved decisions divided by total decided applications, excluding withdrawn and pending applications. The full methodology, data sourcing, and Creative Commons BY 4.0 licensing terms are published at planninglens.co.uk/methodology.