Sutton planning approval rate

Sutton council approved 84.1% of planning applications and refused 15.9%, based on 18,538 decisions analysed. Ranked 40th out of 300 councils for strictness.

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

84.1%

overall approval rate

18,538

Decisions analysed

15,599

Approved

2,939

Refused

Wards covered

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

Other (10,321 decided)

86.4%

Full (6,402 decided)

83.1%

Prior Approval (1,692 decided)

73.0%

Certificate of Lawfulness (83 decided)

97.6%

Trees (29 decided)

100.0%

Approval rate by project type

These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Sutton, mined from 18,538 proposal descriptions.

Rear Extension (7,274 decided)

80.0%

Garage / Parking (4,155 decided)

82.9%

Dormer (3,168 decided)

83.0%

Side Extension (3,063 decided)

79.3%

Extension (General) (2,228 decided)

89.0%

Wraparound Extension (1,097 decided)

79.8%

New Build (1,060 decided)

78.1%

Change of Use (Residential) (978 decided)

81.8%

Front Extension (950 decided)

77.9%

Flat Conversion (916 decided)

91.6%

Outbuilding (856 decided)

82.0%

Hip-to-Gable Conversion (430 decided)

82.6%

Conservatory (419 decided)

84.5%

Basement (235 decided)

84.7%

HMO (189 decided)

74.1%

Annex (156 decided)

72.4%

Loft Conversion (151 decided)

79.5%

Approval rate by ward

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

A04 (590 decided)

76.4%

W05 (546 decided)

75.1%

A02 (498 decided)

81.5%

C14 (468 decided)

81.0%

C13 (460 decided)

81.5%

A01 (459 decided)

78.0%

A03 (458 decided)

76.2%

SUTTON CENTRAL (445 decided)

99.8%

D18 (409 decided)

80.2%

E05 (393 decided)

80.2%

D17 (387 decided)

82.7%

B06 (374 decided)

84.0%

E09 (361 decided)

80.9%

E06 (355 decided)

83.7%

B05 (353 decided)

77.6%

W03 (340 decided)

82.9%

D15 (340 decided)

81.2%

C10 (338 decided)

77.2%

D16 (332 decided)

78.0%

W10 (322 decided)

76.4%

Wards in Sutton

Recent comparable decisions

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

None

Conversion of loft space involving dormer extensions at the front and rear. · Carshalton Central · 13/08/2026

Refused

None

Erection of a single storey rear extension. · Worcester Park South · 13/08/2026

Approved

None

Erection of a single storey rear extension with steps and alterations to fenestr · Sutton Central · 13/08/2026

Approved

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

What gets approved near your property?

In Sutton, 1 in 6 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 Sutton
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect

Free planning check for Sutton →

Free. Based on 18,538 decisions.

Compare with nearby councils

Croydon Epsom & Ewell Wandsworth

Frequently asked questions about planning in Sutton

What is the planning approval rate in Sutton?

Based on 18,538 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Sutton approved 84.1% of applications and refused 15.9%. The council is ranked 40th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.

How many planning applications are refused in Sutton?

Sutton refuses 15.9% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 6. That is higher than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 18,538 decided applications since 2020, 2,939 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.

Which areas of Sutton have the highest planning approval rates?

The highest approval rates in Sutton are in XXX (100.0%), SUTTON CENTRAL (99.8%), and THE WRYTHE (99.2%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.

What types of planning application are most common in Sutton?

The most common planning application types in Sutton are: Other (10,321 decisions, 86.4% approved), Full (6,402, 83.1%), and Prior Approval (1,692, 73.0%).

How long does a planning application take in Sutton?

Planning applications in Sutton take an average of 8.4 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 14,928 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. Sutton decides approximately 3,090 planning applications per year.

How do I check planning applications in Sutton?

You can search planning applications in Sutton directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 18,538 historical decisions in Sutton to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.

How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Sutton calculated?

PlanningLens scrapes Sutton'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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