Medway Council approves 88.1% of planning applications, based on 10,302 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Medway is closely in line with 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 Medway.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 5,598 | 664 | 6,262 | 89.4% |
| Trees | 1,104 | 120 | 1,224 | 90.2% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 1,008 | 153 | 1,161 | 86.8% |
| Other | 566 | 178 | 744 | 76.1% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 272 | 49 | 321 | 84.7% |
| Listed Building | 270 | 16 | 286 | 94.4% |
| Advertisement | 211 | 9 | 220 | 95.9% |
| Prior Approval | 48 | 36 | 84 | 57.1% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strood Rural | 634 | 74 | 708 | 89.5% |
| River | 505 | 59 | 564 | 89.5% |
| Rainham Central | 440 | 44 | 484 | 90.9% |
| Gillingham South | 392 | 84 | 476 | 82.4% |
| Rochester West | 414 | 20 | 434 | 95.4% |
| Watling | 373 | 49 | 422 | 88.4% |
| Rainham North | 355 | 53 | 408 | 87.0% |
| Peninsula | 342 | 47 | 389 | 87.9% |
| Gillingham North | 305 | 64 | 369 | 82.7% |
| Hempstead And Wigmore | 319 | 38 | 357 | 89.4% |
| Strood North | 286 | 45 | 331 | 86.4% |
| Chatham Central & Brompton | 304 | 27 | 331 | 91.8% |
| Rainham South | 296 | 31 | 327 | 90.5% |
| Rochester South & Horsted | 282 | 29 | 311 | 90.7% |
| Twydall | 249 | 46 | 295 | 84.4% |
| Rochester West & Borstal | 240 | 21 | 261 | 92.0% |
| Strood South | 213 | 30 | 243 | 87.7% |
| Rainham South East | 204 | 37 | 241 | 84.6% |
| Walderslade | 199 | 34 | 233 | 85.4% |
| Hempstead & Wigmore | 185 | 31 | 216 | 85.6% |
| Cuxton And Halling | 184 | 25 | 209 | 88.0% |
| Fort Pitt | 176 | 25 | 201 | 87.6% |
| Chatham Central | 150 | 47 | 197 | 76.1% |
| Strood North & Frindsbury | 167 | 25 | 192 | 87.0% |
| Luton And Wayfield | 161 | 24 | 185 | 87.0% |
Showing top 25 of 39 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Medway’s planning approval rate has changed year by year — up 2.0pp since 2020.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Medway council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| MC/26/0134 Strood West | Application for a Lawful Development Certificate (proposed) for the conversion o | Approved |
| MC/25/2450 Wayfield & Weeds Wood | Application for a Lawful Development Certificate (proposed) for the conversion o | Approved |
| MC/25/2196 Strood Rural | Construction of single storey extension to front with pitched roof over and conv | Approved |
| MC/25/2195 Hempstead & Wigmore | Construction of a dormer window to front and rear to provide additional living a | Refused |
| MC/25/2198 Strood Rural | Construction of two dormers to side to facilitate living accommodation within th | Refused |
| MC/25/2185 St Mary's Island | Construction of a conservatory to the rear of the property, alterations to front | Approved |
| MC/25/2148 Rainham South West | Construction of vehicle crossover to front of the driveway | Approved |
| MC/25/2217 Rainham South West | Construction of a single storey extension to Rear/side along with the insertion | Approved |
| MC/25/2194 Hoo St Werburgh & High Halstow | Change of use of an existing residential bungalow (Use Class C3) to office use ( | Approved |
| MC/25/2201 Strood North & Frindsbury | Construction of single storey rear and part side extension. Demolition of existi | Approved |
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 Medway's 10,302 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Medway's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Medway'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 Medway. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 10,302 real decisions from Medway 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 Medway'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 10,302 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Medway is 88.1%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 10,302 planning decisions from Medway council. 9,077 were approved and 1,225 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Medway is 88.1%, 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.