Sevenoaks Council approves 83.2% of planning applications, based on 5,983 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Sevenoaks sits 1.8 percentage points below the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 5,983 decided applications on record (January 2020 to January 2024), Sevenoaks Council approved 83.2% of planning applications. The national average approval rate across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Sevenoaks council planning portal records · Data to 24 January 2024 · Quote freely with attribution
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 Sevenoaks.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 4,375 | 880 | 5,255 | 83.3% |
| Other | 3,025 | 325 | 3,350 | 90.3% |
| Trees | 2,132 | 86 | 2,218 | 96.1% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 683 | 239 | 922 | 74.1% |
| Listed Building | 434 | 76 | 510 | 85.1% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 117 | 25 | 142 | 82.4% |
| Prior Approval | 113 | 17 | 130 | 86.9% |
| Advertisement | 75 | 9 | 84 | 89.3% |
| Change of Use | 49 | 22 | 71 | 69.0% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seal & Weald | 963 | 120 | 1,083 | 88.9% |
| Sevenoaks Town & St Johns | 960 | 104 | 1,064 | 90.2% |
| Brasted, Chevening And Sundridge | 923 | 126 | 1,049 | 88.0% |
| Sevenoaks Kippington | 759 | 59 | 818 | 92.8% |
| Otford & Shoreham | 599 | 85 | 684 | 87.6% |
| Fawkham & West Kingsdown | 522 | 135 | 657 | 79.5% |
| Halstead, Knockholt & Badgers Mount | 492 | 133 | 625 | 78.7% |
| Westerham & Crockham Hill | 490 | 99 | 589 | 83.2% |
| Penshurst, Fordcombe & Chiddingstone | 466 | 68 | 534 | 87.3% |
| Hartley & Hodsoll Street | 378 | 94 | 472 | 80.1% |
| Cowden & Hever | 396 | 60 | 456 | 86.8% |
| Kemsing | 381 | 53 | 434 | 87.8% |
| Farningham, Horton Kirby & South Darenth | 350 | 79 | 429 | 81.6% |
| Sevenoaks Eastern | 384 | 31 | 415 | 92.5% |
| Leigh & Chiddingstone Causeway | 366 | 38 | 404 | 90.6% |
| Dunton Green & Riverhead | 372 | 32 | 404 | 92.1% |
| Edenbridge North & East | 307 | 51 | 358 | 85.8% |
| Edenbridge South & West | 267 | 46 | 313 | 85.3% |
| Swanley Christchurch & Swanley Village | 262 | 40 | 302 | 86.8% |
| Swanley White Oak | 238 | 47 | 285 | 83.5% |
| Sevenoaks Northern | 262 | 23 | 285 | 91.9% |
| Eynsford | 258 | 26 | 284 | 90.8% |
| Hextable | 202 | 37 | 239 | 84.5% |
| Ash And New Ash Green | 165 | 27 | 192 | 85.9% |
| Crockenhill & Well Hill | 107 | 50 | 157 | 68.2% |
Showing top 25 of 27 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Sevenoaks’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, down 1.3pp since 2020.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Sevenoaks council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 24/00033/ADJ Westerham & Crockham Hill | Erection of Hay Store and Agricultural Machinery Store | Approved |
| 23/03312/LDCPR Sevenoaks Kippington | 3m rear extension. | Refused |
| 23/03197/LBCALT Cowden & Hever | Install secondary glazing to existing windows | Approved |
| 23/03198/FUL Cowden & Hever | Construction of a replacement two storey dwelling. | Approved |
| 23/03193/HOUSE Dunton Green & Riverhead | Part single and two storey side/rear extension incorporating loft conversion. Ve | Approved |
| 23/03270/DETAIL Brasted, Chevening And Sundridge | Details pursuant to condition 4 (hard and soft landscaping and boundary treatmen | Approved |
| 23/03109/HOUSE Dunton Green & Riverhead | Conversion of existing integral garage into habitable space. Demolition of exist | Approved |
| 23/03043/FUL Kemsing | Demolition of existing detached dwelling, garage and outbuildings. Construction | Approved |
| 23/03032/LBCALT Leigh & Chiddingstone Causeway | Internal upgrade to 6 existing bathrooms and the installation of a pressurised h | Approved |
| 23/02971/HOUSE Penshurst, Fordcombe & Chiddingstone | Single storey rear extension with roof lantern. | 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 Sevenoaks's 5,983 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Sevenoaks's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Sevenoaks'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 Sevenoaks. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 5,983 real decisions from Sevenoaks 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 Sevenoaks'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 5,983 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Sevenoaks is 83.2%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 5,983 planning decisions from Sevenoaks council. 4,980 were approved and 1,003 were refused. These figures cover every decision on record for the council, January 2020 to January 2024.
The average approval rate in Sevenoaks is 83.2%, 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 Sevenoaks? 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.