Southwark Council approves 93.5% of planning applications, based on 30,483 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Southwark sits 4.9 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 3,281 decided applications, Southwark Council approved 94.1% of planning applications in 2025. Across 30,483 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Southwark is 93.5%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Southwark council planning portal records · Updated August 2026 · 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 Southwark.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 24,070 | 1,565 | 25,635 | 93.9% |
| Full | 3,947 | 271 | 4,218 | 93.6% |
| Prior Approval | 372 | 147 | 519 | 71.7% |
| Trees | 48 | 0 | 48 | 100.0% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 27 | 2 | 29 | 93.1% |
| Listed Building | 21 | 0 | 21 | 100.0% |
| Advertisement | 9 | 0 | 9 | 100.0% |
| Change of Use | 3 | 1 | 4 | 75.0% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duvi | 2,360 | 94 | 2,454 | 96.2% |
| Boba | 2,050 | 164 | 2,214 | 92.6% |
| Gogr | 1,595 | 127 | 1,722 | 92.6% |
| Ryla | 1,507 | 174 | 1,681 | 89.6% |
| Olke | 1,452 | 90 | 1,542 | 94.2% |
| Lbwb | 1,403 | 113 | 1,516 | 92.5% |
| Duwo | 1,298 | 76 | 1,374 | 94.5% |
| Sgil | 1,232 | 87 | 1,319 | 93.4% |
| Nwal | 1,113 | 86 | 1,199 | 92.8% |
| Dulh | 939 | 62 | 1,001 | 93.8% |
| Nuqu | 871 | 113 | 984 | 88.5% |
| Pery | 872 | 43 | 915 | 95.3% |
| Cagr | 789 | 112 | 901 | 87.6% |
| Chhi | 777 | 67 | 844 | 92.1% |
| Nber | 804 | 39 | 843 | 95.4% |
| Sudo | 772 | 45 | 817 | 94.5% |
| Roth | 681 | 68 | 749 | 90.9% |
| Somb | 608 | 37 | 645 | 94.3% |
| Chau | 576 | 63 | 639 | 90.1% |
| Cathedrals | 567 | 10 | 577 | 98.3% |
| Sgeo | 509 | 67 | 576 | 88.4% |
| Fara | 501 | 50 | 551 | 90.9% |
| Pecm | 449 | 51 | 500 | 89.8% |
| Grange | 452 | 6 | 458 | 98.7% |
| The Lane | 335 | 8 | 343 | 97.7% |
Showing top 25 of 65 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Southwark’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, down 4.7pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Southwark council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| None Pery | Constuction of a wraparound extension to the rear of the property. | Approved |
| None Somb | Construction of a ground floor single-storey side infill extension and installat | Approved |
| None Ryla | Replacement of all front elevation windows with double glazed timber sliding sas | Approved |
| None Gogr | Ground floor rear extension and hip-to-gable roof extension incorporating a rear | Approved |
| None Nuqu | Construction of an L-shaped dormer roof extension, increasing of the ridge heigh | Approved |
| None Roth | Loft conversion including the insertion of 2 no. rooflights to the front roof sl | Approved |
| None Nuqu | Demolition of the existing wrap-around ground floor extension and the erection o | Approved |
| None Duvi | Part-retrospective application for external alterations associated with the refu | Approved |
| None Duvi | Part-retrospective application for external alterations associated with the refu | Approved |
| None Nuqu | Construction of an L-shaped dormer, increase ridge 0.4m, the addition of two roo | 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 Southwark's 30,483 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Southwark's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Southwark'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 Southwark. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 30,483 real decisions from Southwark 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 Southwark'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 30,483 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Southwark is 93.5%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 30,483 planning decisions from Southwark council. 28,497 were approved and 1,986 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Southwark is 93.5%, 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.
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