Greenwich planning approval rate
Greenwich council approved 78.2% of planning applications and refused 21.8%, based on 22,979 decisions analysed. Ranked 8th out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
78.2%
overall approval rate
22,979
Decisions analysed
17,965
Approved
5,014
Refused
47
Wards covered
Planning in Greenwich? 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 Greenwich. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
82.9%
70.8%
55.8%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Greenwich, mined from 22,979 proposal descriptions.
66.4%
77.5%
67.5%
67.5%
59.7%
76.0%
78.7%
70.2%
58.5%
64.0%
77.2%
78.2%
76.0%
85.0%
49.6%
72.9%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Greenwich. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
BLACKHEATH WESTCOMBE
78.6%
SHOOTERS HILL
73.1%
PENINSULA - NO LONGER EXISTS
84.6%
WOOLWICH COMMON
76.8%
GREENWICH WEST - NO LONGER EXISTS
86.6%
GREENWICH PARK
82.9%
ELTHAM TOWN & AVERY HILL
72.7%
ABBEY WOOD
73.2%
ELTHAM PARK & PROGRESS
81.2%
ELTHAM NORTH - NO LONGER EXISTS
75.0%
PLUMSTEAD & GLYNDON
73.2%
MOTTINGHAM, COLDHARBOUR & NEW ELTHAM
63.9%
WOOLWICH RIVERSIDE - NO LONGER EXISTS
80.1%
GREENWICH PENINSULA
92.6%
KIDBROOKE WITH HORNFAIR CODE
74.2%
EAST GREENWICH
77.1%
ELTHAM SOUTH - NO LONGER EXISTS
72.5%
COLDHARBOUR AND NEW ELTHAM OLD CODE
68.7%
PLUMSTEAD COMMON
73.0%
CHARLTON - NO LONGER EXISTS
70.2%
Wards in Greenwich
BLACKHEATH WESTCOMBE
78.6% approval · 1,522 decisions
SHOOTERS HILL
73.1% approval · 1,039 decisions
PENINSULA - NO LONGER EXISTS
84.6% approval · 1,037 decisions
WOOLWICH COMMON
76.8% approval · 918 decisions
GREENWICH WEST - NO LONGER EXISTS
86.6% approval · 872 decisions
GREENWICH PARK
82.9% approval · 859 decisions
ELTHAM TOWN & AVERY HILL
72.7% approval · 842 decisions
ABBEY WOOD
73.2% approval · 765 decisions
ELTHAM PARK & PROGRESS
81.2% approval · 745 decisions
ELTHAM NORTH - NO LONGER EXISTS
75.0% approval · 712 decisions
PLUMSTEAD & GLYNDON
73.2% approval · 691 decisions
MOTTINGHAM, COLDHARBOUR & NEW ELTHAM
63.9% approval · 653 decisions
WOOLWICH RIVERSIDE - NO LONGER EXISTS
80.1% approval · 649 decisions
GREENWICH PENINSULA
92.6% approval · 633 decisions
KIDBROOKE WITH HORNFAIR CODE
74.2% approval · 605 decisions
EAST GREENWICH
77.1% approval · 582 decisions
ELTHAM SOUTH - NO LONGER EXISTS
72.5% approval · 582 decisions
COLDHARBOUR AND NEW ELTHAM OLD CODE
68.7% approval · 579 decisions
PLUMSTEAD COMMON
73.0% approval · 575 decisions
CHARLTON - NO LONGER EXISTS
70.2% approval · 563 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Greenwich, showing how the council decides real applications.
None
An outbuilding at the rear of the garden as a home office, gym, and painting stu · MOTTINGHAM, COLDHARBOUR & NEW ELTHAM · 23/06/2026
None
Part first floor side extension, loft conversion, changes to fenestrations. · BLACKHEATH WESTCOMBE · 23/06/2026
None
Single-storey rear extension 6m deep x 3m high (3m high to eaves) · BLACKHEATH WESTCOMBE · 23/06/2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Greenwich, 1 in 5 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 Greenwich
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Greenwich →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Greenwich
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 22,979 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Greenwich
What is the planning approval rate in Greenwich?
Based on 22,979 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Greenwich approved 78.2% of applications and refused 21.8%. The council is ranked 8th out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Greenwich?
Greenwich refuses 21.8% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 5. That is higher than the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 22,979 decided applications since 2020, 5,014 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Greenwich have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Greenwich are in KIDBROOKE WITH HORNFAIR (100.0%), CHARLTON (97.8%), and WOOLWICH RIVERSIDE (96.3%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Greenwich?
The most common planning application types in Greenwich are: Other (15,866 decisions, 82.9% approved), Full (5,650, 70.8%), and Prior Approval (1,463, 55.8%).
How long does a planning application take in Greenwich?
Planning applications in Greenwich take an average of 12.2 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 20,437 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. Greenwich decides approximately 3,830 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Greenwich?
You can search planning applications in Greenwich directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 22,979 historical decisions in Greenwich to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Greenwich calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Greenwich'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.