Greenwich Council approves 78.1% of planning applications, based on 22,217 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Greenwich sits 9.9 percentage points below the national average.
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 | 12,714 | 2,626 | 15,340 | 82.9% |
| Full | 3,863 | 1,610 | 5,473 | 70.6% |
| Prior Approval | 778 | 626 | 1,404 | 55.4% |
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 | 1,150 | 318 | 1,468 | 78.3% |
| Peninsula | 1,158 | 171 | 1,329 | 87.1% |
| Greenwich West | 1,051 | 136 | 1,187 | 88.5% |
| Shooters Hill | 739 | 274 | 1,013 | 73.0% |
| Woolwich Common | 697 | 204 | 901 | 77.4% |
| Woolwich Riverside | 756 | 138 | 894 | 84.6% |
| Eltham Town & Avery Hill | 578 | 217 | 795 | 72.7% |
| Greenwich Park | 659 | 133 | 792 | 83.2% |
| Eltham North | 579 | 180 | 759 | 76.3% |
| Abbey Wood | 527 | 196 | 723 | 72.9% |
| Eltham South | 531 | 171 | 702 | 75.6% |
| Eltham Park & Progress | 564 | 137 | 701 | 80.5% |
| Charlton | 526 | 171 | 697 | 75.5% |
| Plumstead & Glyndon | 476 | 171 | 647 | 73.6% |
| Mottingham, Coldharbour & New Eltham | 392 | 222 | 614 | 63.8% |
| Kidbrooke With Hornfair Code | 449 | 156 | 605 | 74.2% |
| Greenwich Peninsula | 551 | 46 | 597 | 92.3% |
| Coldharbour And New Eltham Old Code | 398 | 181 | 579 | 68.7% |
| Plumstead | 413 | 158 | 571 | 72.3% |
| East Greenwich | 423 | 128 | 551 | 76.8% |
| Plumstead Common | 393 | 144 | 537 | 73.2% |
| Eltham West | 401 | 115 | 516 | 77.7% |
| Middle Park And Sutcliffe Code | 371 | 133 | 504 | 73.6% |
| Woolwich Arsenal | 422 | 69 | 491 | 85.9% |
| Thamesmead Moorings | 359 | 109 | 468 | 76.7% |
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 13.3pp 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 26/0093/F Plumstead Common | Change of use from a single dwellinghouse (Use Class C3) to a four-bedroom small | Refused |
| 26/0260/PN1 Shooters Hill | Prior Approval for the construction of a single storey rear extension which will | Approved |
| 26/0027/HD Greenwich Park | Replacement of first floor Single glazed timber sash window to the rear with dou | Approved |
| 25/3971/HD Shooters Hill | Construction of single storey rear extension and a hip to gable loft conversion | Approved |
| 25/4217/F Plumstead Common | Change of use from an existing single-family dwellinghouse (Use Class C3) to a 5 | Approved |
| 25/4192/A Shooters Hill | Digitally printed vinyl window graphics | Approved |
| 26/0123/F Plumstead Common | Change of use from an existing dwelling (Use Class C3) to a 7-bed, 7-person HMO | Approved |
| 25/4268/F Plumstead & Glyndon | Loft conversion with two small rear dormer and front 2 sky lights (Re-applicatio | Approved |
| 26/0089/HD Greenwich Park | Removal of render, and existing shed, construction of a single storey rear exten | Approved |
| 25/4263/HD Mottingham, Coldharbour & New Eltham | Construction of an outbuilding at the rear of the garden as a home office, gym, | 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 22,217 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 22,217 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 22,217 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Greenwich is 78.1%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 22,217 planning decisions from Greenwich council. 17,355 were approved and 4,862 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Greenwich is 78.1%, 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.