Richmond planning approval rate

Richmond council approved 87.6% of planning applications and refused 12.4%, based on 33,156 decisions analysed. Ranked 80th out of 300 councils for strictness.

Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026

87.6%

overall approval rate

33,156

Decisions analysed

29,046

Approved

4,110

Refused

Wards covered

Planning in Richmond? 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 Richmond. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.

Other (19,833 decided)

89.8%

Full (8,946 decided)

83.8%

Prior Approval (4,377 decided)

85.3%

Approval rate by project type

These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Richmond, mined from 33,156 proposal descriptions.

Rear Extension (7,039 decided)

82.6%

Dormer (4,528 decided)

81.6%

Loft Conversion (3,732 decided)

81.6%

Side Extension (3,165 decided)

82.1%

Garage / Parking (3,159 decided)

83.7%

Outbuilding (1,860 decided)

87.8%

Extension (General) (1,495 decided)

85.1%

Change of Use (Residential) (1,364 decided)

91.1%

Hip-to-Gable Conversion (1,196 decided)

82.4%

Basement (905 decided)

83.6%

New Build (779 decided)

83.6%

Conservatory (688 decided)

89.7%

Wraparound Extension (593 decided)

82.3%

Flat Conversion (329 decided)

88.4%

Front Extension (317 decided)

77.3%

HMO (176 decided)

92.6%

Annex (108 decided)

79.6%

Approval rate by ward

Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Richmond. Click any ward for detailed statistics.

SRW (1,612 decided)

87.4%

STR (1,378 decided)

87.5%

TWR (1,101 decided)

83.9%

KWA (1,024 decided)

87.8%

EAS (1,021 decided)

85.7%

HTN (953 decided)

83.2%

STM (917 decided)

84.3%

HPR (883 decided)

81.3%

BAR (872 decided)

85.0%

TED (855 decided)

84.0%

TRW (838 decided)

87.5%

MBC (817 decided)

84.6%

KWW (787 decided)

88.9%

NRW (780 decided)

86.3%

HMP (769 decided)

85.2%

HWI (751 decided)

86.3%

BRN (740 decided)

85.4%

FHH (733 decided)

80.8%

TDD (716 decided)

89.1%

SMN (705 decided)

87.7%

Wards in Richmond

Recent comparable decisions

The most recent residential planning decisions in Richmond, showing how the council decides real applications.

PA26/1732

Details pursuant to conditions C5 SuDs Statement and C6 replacement tree of plan · · 04/08/2026

Approved

PA26/1861

Hip to gable and rear dormer roof extensions and installation of rooflights. · · 04/08/2026

Approved

PA26/1800

Rear dormer roof extension, installation of rooflights to the front roof slope, · · 04/08/2026

Approved

Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →

What gets approved near your property?

In Richmond, 1 in 8 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 Richmond
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect

Free planning check for Richmond →

Free. Based on 33,156 decisions.

Compare with nearby councils

Hounslow Kingston Wandsworth Hammersmith & Fulham

Frequently asked questions about planning in Richmond

What is the planning approval rate in Richmond?

Based on 33,156 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Richmond approved 87.6% of applications and refused 12.4%. The council is ranked 80th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.

How many planning applications are refused in Richmond?

Richmond refuses 12.4% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 8. That is close to the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 33,156 decided applications since 2020, 4,110 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.

Which areas of Richmond have the highest planning approval rates?

The highest approval rates in Richmond are in BARNES (99.4%), WEST TWICKENHAM (98.2%), and HAM, PETERSHAM AND RICHMOND RIVERSIDE (97.8%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.

What types of planning application are most common in Richmond?

The most common planning application types in Richmond are: Other (19,833 decisions, 89.8% approved), Full (8,946, 83.8%), and Prior Approval (4,377, 85.3%).

How long does a planning application take in Richmond?

Planning applications in Richmond take an average of 8.2 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 29,687 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. Richmond decides approximately 5,526 planning applications per year.

How do I check planning applications in Richmond?

You can search planning applications in Richmond directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 33,156 historical decisions in Richmond to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.

How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Richmond calculated?

PlanningLens scrapes Richmond'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.

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