Greenwich Council approves 78.2% of planning applications, based on 22,979 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Greenwich sits 10.1 percentage points below the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 2,972 decided applications, Greenwich Council approved 81.7% of planning applications in 2025. Across 22,979 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Greenwich is 78.2%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Greenwich council planning portal records · Updated June 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 Greenwich.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 13,147 | 2,719 | 15,866 | 82.9% |
| Full | 4,002 | 1,648 | 5,650 | 70.8% |
| Prior Approval | 816 | 647 | 1,463 | 55.8% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackheath Westcombe | 1,197 | 325 | 1,522 | 78.6% |
| Peninsula | 1,156 | 172 | 1,328 | 87.0% |
| Greenwich West | 1,050 | 137 | 1,187 | 88.5% |
| Shooters Hill | 760 | 279 | 1,039 | 73.1% |
| Woolwich Common | 705 | 213 | 918 | 76.8% |
| Woolwich Riverside | 757 | 138 | 895 | 84.6% |
| Greenwich Park | 712 | 147 | 859 | 82.9% |
| Eltham Town & Avery Hill | 612 | 230 | 842 | 72.7% |
| Abbey Wood | 560 | 205 | 765 | 73.2% |
| Eltham North | 579 | 180 | 759 | 76.3% |
| Eltham Park & Progress | 605 | 140 | 745 | 81.2% |
| Eltham South | 530 | 172 | 702 | 75.5% |
| Charlton | 526 | 171 | 697 | 75.5% |
| Plumstead & Glyndon | 506 | 185 | 691 | 73.2% |
| Mottingham, Coldharbour & New Eltham | 417 | 236 | 653 | 63.9% |
| Greenwich Peninsula | 586 | 47 | 633 | 92.6% |
| Kidbrooke With Hornfair Code | 449 | 156 | 605 | 74.2% |
| East Greenwich | 449 | 133 | 582 | 77.1% |
| Coldharbour And New Eltham Old Code | 398 | 181 | 579 | 68.7% |
| Plumstead Common | 420 | 155 | 575 | 73.0% |
| Plumstead | 413 | 158 | 571 | 72.3% |
| Woolwich Arsenal | 463 | 73 | 536 | 86.4% |
| Eltham West | 400 | 116 | 516 | 77.5% |
| Kidbrooke Park | 361 | 143 | 504 | 71.6% |
| Middle Park And Sutcliffe Code | 371 | 133 | 504 | 73.6% |
Showing top 25 of 38 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Greenwich’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, down 12.8pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Greenwich council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| None Mottingham, Coldharbour & New Eltham | An outbuilding at the rear of the garden as a home office, gym, and painting stu | Approved |
| None Blackheath Westcombe | Part first floor side extension, loft conversion, changes to fenestrations. | Approved |
| None Blackheath Westcombe | Single-storey rear extension 6m deep x 3m high (3m high to eaves) | Approved |
| None Blackheath Westcombe | Replacement of existing pitched roof coverings to main (central) roof. | Refused |
| None Eltham Park & Progress | This proposal is for the replacement of the existing front main entrance door to | Approved |
| None Kidbrooke Park | 14 Crossbrook Road-LDC Loft | Approved |
| None Eltham Page | Single storey rear extension and part two storey side and rear extension | Refused |
| None Mottingham, Coldharbour & New Eltham | Single storey front extension.and Garage conversion to habitable room and retain | Refused |
| None Mottingham, Coldharbour & New Eltham | Single storey rear extension and First floor side extension | Refused |
| None Kidbrooke Park | A single-storey Extension at the rear no more than 4 metres in height (measured | Refused |
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 Greenwich's 22,979 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Greenwich's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Greenwich'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 Greenwich. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 22,979 real decisions from Greenwich 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 Greenwich'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 22,979 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Greenwich is 78.2%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.3%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 22,979 planning decisions from Greenwich council. 17,965 were approved and 5,014 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Greenwich is 78.2%, 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 Greenwich? 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.