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Loft Conversion Approval Rates in Greenwich

Loft conversions change your roofline — and that makes them one of the more closely scrutinised application types. Councils scrutinise visibility, overlooking and street character more closely than for ground-level work. Here's what the data shows in Greenwich.

2,547 real decisions·January 2020 to present·Updated March 2026
67.6%
Approval Rate
2,547
Decisions
1,723
Approved
824
Refused
67.6% approved. But 824 refused since 2020. Each refusal cost the homeowner time and money on drawings and application fees. Understanding your local data before you apply is the difference between confidence and a costly gamble.

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Why loft conversion approval rates matter

Loft conversions face more scrutiny than rear or side extensions because they change the property's profile from the street. Dormers, mansards and hip-to-gable alterations are particularly sensitive.

These are council averages. Your property is specific.

Two houses on the same street can get different outcomes.
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How loft conversions compare to other project types

Not all applications are treated equally. Here's how loft conversions stack up against other common projects in Greenwich.

TypeDecisionsRate
New Build430
85.6%
Outbuilding797
78.8%
Flat Conversion548
78.6%
Extension (General)587
78.4%
Garage / Parking2,787
77.9%
Basement820
76.7%
Conservatory459
76.3%
Change of Use (Residential)1,507
71.7%
Annex66
71.2%
Hip-to-Gable Conversion797
70.5%
Dormer2,691
67.9%
Loft Conversion2,547
67.6%
Rear Extension5,373
66.3%
HMO612
64.7%
Side Extension1,988
59.8%
Wraparound Extension659
58.1%
Front Extension222
49.5%
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What the data tells us

1
67.6% of loft conversion applications in Greenwich get approved. That means 824 homeowners since 2020 have been refused. Not terrible odds, but not a foregone conclusion.
3
Council averages are starting points, not guarantees. The decisions that matter most are the comparable ones near your specific property — because planning officers look at precedent, character and the immediate context of your street.

Before you spend £5,000+ on architects and drawings

824 loft conversion applications in Greenwich have been refused since 2020. Many of those homeowners had already paid for drawings and application fees. A £79 report shows you what gets approved — and what gets refused — near your property.

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More Greenwich planning data

Nearby councils loft conversion data

Methodology: Based on 2,547 planning decisions classified as loft conversions in Greenwich, January 2020 to present. Classification uses keyword matching against proposal descriptions (matching generate_site_data.py rules). A single application may appear in multiple categories. Approval rate = approved / (approved + refused). Pending, withdrawn and invalid applications excluded. Data from Greenwich Council's public planning portal. Full methodology →
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