Gravesham planning approval rate
Gravesham council approved 82.8% of planning applications and refused 17.2%, based on 1,474 decisions analysed. Ranked 28th out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
82.8%
overall approval rate
1,474
Decisions analysed
1,221
Approved
253
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.
74.9%
88.1%
95.3%
100.0%
72.3%
66.7%
76.5%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Gravesham, mined from 1,474 proposal descriptions.
75.1%
74.9%
70.6%
74.8%
78.3%
77.5%
69.5%
85.4%
71.7%
75.6%
62.5%
78.3%
66.7%
64.7%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Gravesham. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Higham And Shorne
80.4%
Town
81.7%
Istead Rise, Cobham And Luddesdown
87.3%
Meopham South And Vigo
84.1%
Meopham North
86.7%
Whitehill And Windmill Hill
79.4%
Woodlands
68.2%
Northfleet And Springhead
82.4%
Pelham
82.9%
Painters Ash
82.5%
Riverview Park
93.2%
Coldharbour And Perry Street
80.4%
Chalk
85.7%
Westcourt
89.2%
Singlewell
85.7%
Denton
90.3%
Wards in Gravesham
Higham And Shorne
80.4% approval · 179 decisions
Town
81.7% approval · 153 decisions
Istead Rise, Cobham And Luddesdown
87.3% approval · 150 decisions
Meopham South And Vigo
84.1% approval · 126 decisions
Meopham North
86.7% approval · 120 decisions
Whitehill And Windmill Hill
79.4% approval · 107 decisions
Woodlands
68.2% approval · 107 decisions
Northfleet And Springhead
82.4% approval · 85 decisions
Pelham
82.9% approval · 76 decisions
Painters Ash
82.5% approval · 63 decisions
Riverview Park
93.2% approval · 59 decisions
Coldharbour And Perry Street
80.4% approval · 56 decisions
Chalk
85.7% approval · 49 decisions
Westcourt
89.2% approval · 37 decisions
Singlewell
85.7% approval · 35 decisions
Denton
90.3% approval · 31 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Gravesham, showing how the council decides real applications.
Demolition of rear conservatory and erection of a single storey rear / side exte · Meopham North · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Demolition of existing rear conservatory. Erection of a single storey rear exten · Higham And Shorne · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Creation of driveway with formation of a vehicle crossover with dropped kerb. · Rosherville · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 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 1,474 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Gravesham
What is the planning approval rate in Gravesham?
Based on 1,474 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Gravesham approved 82.8% of applications and refused 17.2%. The council is ranked 28th out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Gravesham?
Gravesham refuses 17.2% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 6. That is higher than the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 1,474 decided applications since 2020, 253 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 (93.2%), Istead Rise, Cobham And Luddesdown (87.3%), and Meopham North (86.7%). 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 (553 decisions, 74.9% approved), Other (226, 88.1%), and Certificate of Lawfulness (211, 84.4%).
How long does a planning application take in Gravesham?
Planning applications in Gravesham take an average of 11.9 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 923 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 246 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 1,474 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.