Medway Council approves 87.8% of planning applications, based on 7,551 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Medway sits 2.8 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 1,491 decided applications, Medway Council approved 88.5% of planning applications in 2025. Across 7,551 decisions on record (January 2020 to September 2026), the overall approval rate in Medway is 87.8%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Medway council planning portal records · Data to 29 September 2026 · Quote freely with attribution
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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 | 6,101 | 717 | 6,818 | 89.5% |
| Trees | 1,212 | 130 | 1,342 | 90.3% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 1,143 | 174 | 1,317 | 86.8% |
| Other | 624 | 186 | 810 | 77.0% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 291 | 57 | 348 | 83.6% |
| Listed Building | 308 | 16 | 324 | 95.1% |
| Advertisement | 239 | 10 | 249 | 96.0% |
| Prior Approval | 54 | 36 | 90 | 60.0% |
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 | 692 | 79 | 771 | 89.8% |
| River | 505 | 59 | 564 | 89.5% |
| Gillingham South | 458 | 104 | 562 | 81.5% |
| Rainham Central | 440 | 44 | 484 | 90.9% |
| Watling | 423 | 61 | 484 | 87.4% |
| Rainham North | 389 | 57 | 446 | 87.2% |
| Rochester West | 414 | 20 | 434 | 95.4% |
| Gillingham North | 328 | 68 | 396 | 82.8% |
| Chatham Central & Brompton | 359 | 35 | 394 | 91.1% |
| Peninsula | 343 | 47 | 390 | 87.9% |
| Hempstead And Wigmore | 319 | 38 | 357 | 89.4% |
| Rochester West & Borstal | 320 | 21 | 341 | 93.8% |
| Strood North | 286 | 45 | 331 | 86.4% |
| Rainham South | 296 | 31 | 327 | 90.5% |
| Twydall | 263 | 49 | 312 | 84.3% |
| Rochester South & Horsted | 282 | 29 | 311 | 90.7% |
| Rainham South East | 246 | 42 | 288 | 85.4% |
| Hempstead & Wigmore | 241 | 38 | 279 | 86.4% |
| Fort Pitt | 236 | 26 | 262 | 90.1% |
| Strood North & Frindsbury | 224 | 31 | 255 | 87.8% |
| Strood South | 213 | 30 | 243 | 87.7% |
| Walderslade | 199 | 34 | 233 | 85.4% |
| Rainham South West | 199 | 22 | 221 | 90.0% |
| Hoo St Werburgh & High Halstow | 189 | 22 | 211 | 89.6% |
| Cuxton And Halling | 184 | 25 | 209 | 88.0% |
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 3.4pp 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/26/1685 Gillingham South | Application for Lawful Development Certificate (Proposed) for a single storey in | Refused |
| MC/26/1476 Hoo St Werburgh & High Halstow | Demolition of existing conservatory and rear extensions and the construction of | Refused |
| MC/26/1458 Rochester East & Warren Wood | Construction of a single storey rear/side extension. | Approved |
| MC/26/1462 Strood Rural | Conversion of an existing barn into a residential dwelling with associated parki | Approved |
| MC/26/1463 Gillingham South | Construction of a High Street entrance door to the corner elevation on an existi | Approved |
| MC/26/1441 Twydall | Construction of raised patio accessible to wheelchair user | Approved |
| MC/26/1464 Hempstead & Wigmore | Construction of a part single part two storey rear extension and installation of | Approved |
| MC/26/1414 Cuxton, Halling & Riverside | Change of use from Class (C3) single dwelling house to Class (C2) residential in | Refused |
| MC/26/1348 Rochester East & Warren Wood | Change of use of existing dwellinghouse (Class C3) to children's home (Class C2) | Refused |
| MC/26/0432 Strood Rural | Construction of three new 3no. bedroom dwellings with associated access, parking | 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 Medway's 7,551 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 7,551 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 7,551 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Medway is 87.8%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 7,551 planning decisions from Medway council. 6,633 were approved and 918 were refused. These figures cover every decision on record for the council, January 2020 to September 2026.
The average approval rate in Medway is 87.8%, 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.
Writing about planning in Medway? These figures are free to republish with attribution. Copy the one-line citation, or paste the stat box into any website, CMS or newsletter, it carries its own styling and links back to this page for verification.