Kingston planning approval rate
Kingston council approved 80.4% of planning applications and refused 19.6%, based on 24,776 decisions analysed. Ranked 16th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
80.4%
overall approval rate
24,776
Decisions analysed
19,915
Approved
4,861
Refused
45
Wards covered
Planning in Kingston? 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 Kingston. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
82.6%
80.9%
55.4%
81.2%
100.0%
78.6%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Kingston, mined from 24,776 proposal descriptions.
75.7%
78.9%
75.6%
76.4%
77.3%
77.2%
77.0%
77.9%
80.6%
80.7%
80.7%
75.3%
81.2%
64.6%
72.6%
76.7%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Kingston. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Coombe Hill
82.9%
Surbiton Hill
81.6%
Coombe Vale
79.0%
Kingston Town
78.1%
Tudor
78.9%
Norbiton
81.2%
Old Malden
73.8%
Alexandra
72.1%
Grove
85.2%
Berrylands
80.1%
St Mark's & Seething Wells
79.6%
New Malden Village
74.6%
Kingston Gate
80.6%
Tolworth
70.7%
Canbury
77.8%
St Mark's
79.8%
Beverley
77.9%
Chessington South & Malden Rushett
70.9%
St James
78.3%
Tolworth & Hook Rise
77.7%
Wards in Kingston
Coombe Hill
82.9% approval · 2,119 decisions
Surbiton Hill
81.6% approval · 1,700 decisions
Coombe Vale
79.0% approval · 1,433 decisions
Kingston Town
78.1% approval · 1,231 decisions
Tudor
78.9% approval · 1,190 decisions
Norbiton
81.2% approval · 1,121 decisions
Old Malden
73.8% approval · 977 decisions
Alexandra
72.1% approval · 939 decisions
Grove
85.2% approval · 901 decisions
Berrylands
80.1% approval · 883 decisions
St Mark's & Seething Wells
79.6% approval · 848 decisions
New Malden Village
74.6% approval · 843 decisions
Kingston Gate
80.6% approval · 751 decisions
Tolworth
70.7% approval · 710 decisions
Canbury
77.8% approval · 607 decisions
St Mark's
79.8% approval · 598 decisions
Beverley
77.9% approval · 579 decisions
Chessington South & Malden Rushett
70.9% approval · 554 decisions
St James
78.3% approval · 548 decisions
Tolworth & Hook Rise
77.7% approval · 542 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Kingston, showing how the council decides real applications.
None
Installation of 2nos digital 75-inch LCD display screens, one on each side of th · Kingston Town · 12/08/2026
None
Erection of a hip to gable rear dormer roof extension and installation of 2nos f · Berrylands · 12/08/2026
None
Conversion of an existing garage into a habitable space, erection of single stor · Motspur Park & Old Malden East · 12/08/2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Kingston, 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 Kingston
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Kingston →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Kingston
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 24,776 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Kingston
What is the planning approval rate in Kingston?
Based on 24,776 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Kingston approved 80.4% of applications and refused 19.6%. The council is ranked 16th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Kingston?
Kingston refuses 19.6% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 5. That is higher than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 24,776 decided applications since 2020, 4,861 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Kingston have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Kingston are in ALEXANDRA (98.7%), Out Of Borough (98.1%), and NORBITON (97.3%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Kingston?
The most common planning application types in Kingston are: Other (15,691 decisions, 82.6% approved), Full (7,269, 80.9%), and Prior Approval (1,628, 55.4%).
How long does a planning application take in Kingston?
Planning applications in Kingston take an average of 10.1 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 21,888 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. Kingston decides approximately 4,129 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Kingston?
You can search planning applications in Kingston directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 24,776 historical decisions in Kingston to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Kingston calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Kingston'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.