Sevenoaks Council approves 86.8% of planning applications, based on 12,687 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. Sevenoaks sits 1.1 percentage points below the national average.
Enter your postcode for a personalised approval likelihood score — 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 | 3,029 | 325 | 3,354 | 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 | 50 | 22 | 72 | 69.4% |
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.
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 | 925 | 126 | 1,051 | 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 | 467 | 68 | 535 | 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 | 367 | 38 | 405 | 90.6% |
| Dunton Green & Riverhead | 372 | 32 | 404 | 92.1% |
| Edenbridge North & East | 308 | 51 | 359 | 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 Pro Report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →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 Pro Report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on Sevenoaks's 12,687 real decisions. Delivered by email in minutes.
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Dig deeper into Sevenoaks's planning statistics — by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Based on 12,687 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Sevenoaks is 86.8%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. However, rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 12,687 planning decisions from Sevenoaks council. 11,008 were approved and 1,679 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Sevenoaks is 86.8%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the PlanningLens free postcode check to get a personalised score.