Sutton Council approves 83.9% of planning applications, based on 17,407 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Sutton sits 4.1 percentage points below the national average.
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 Sutton.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 8,560 | 1,340 | 9,900 | 86.5% |
| Full | 4,851 | 1,028 | 5,879 | 82.5% |
| Prior Approval | 1,187 | 441 | 1,628 | 72.9% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A04 | 451 | 139 | 590 | 76.4% |
| W05 | 410 | 137 | 547 | 75.0% |
| Sutton Central | 494 | 7 | 501 | 98.6% |
| A02 | 406 | 92 | 498 | 81.5% |
| C14 | 380 | 89 | 469 | 81.0% |
| C13 | 375 | 85 | 460 | 81.5% |
| A01 | 358 | 101 | 459 | 78.0% |
| A03 | 349 | 109 | 458 | 76.2% |
| D18 | 328 | 81 | 409 | 80.2% |
| Carshalton Central | 384 | 13 | 397 | 96.7% |
| E05 | 315 | 78 | 393 | 80.2% |
| D17 | 320 | 67 | 387 | 82.7% |
| B06 | 314 | 60 | 374 | 84.0% |
| Cheam | 344 | 26 | 370 | 93.0% |
| E09 | 292 | 69 | 361 | 80.9% |
| E06 | 297 | 58 | 355 | 83.7% |
| B05 | 274 | 79 | 353 | 77.6% |
| W03 | 283 | 58 | 341 | 83.0% |
| D15 | 276 | 64 | 340 | 81.2% |
| C10 | 262 | 77 | 339 | 77.3% |
| D16 | 259 | 73 | 332 | 78.0% |
| W10 | 246 | 76 | 322 | 76.4% |
| W08 | 262 | 59 | 321 | 81.6% |
| B09 | 255 | 60 | 315 | 81.0% |
| B07 | 231 | 83 | 314 | 73.6% |
Showing top 25 of 68 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Sutton’s planning approval rate has changed year by year — down 1.8pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Sutton council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| DM2026/00025 St Helier East | Change of use from Class C3 (Dwelling House) to Class C4 (Small HMO). | Approved |
| DM2026/00019 North Cheam | Erection of a part one, part two front, side and rear extension involving altera | Approved |
| DM2026/00037 Worcester Park South | Erection of a single storey rear extension. | Approved |
| DM2025/01254 St Helier East | Erection of a single storey rear extension. | Approved |
| DM2026/00047 Carshalton South & Clockhouse | Erection of an outbuilding. | Approved |
| DM2026/00006 Worcester Park North | Erection of a single storey rear extension and a front entrance porch. | Approved |
| DM2026/00036 St Helier West | Conversion of loft space involving a dormer extension at rear and rooflights to | Approved |
| DM2025/01414 Beddington | Erection of a two storey side extension to provide two self contained residentia | Approved |
| DM2026/00017 Beddington | Erection of a part one, part two storey rear extension. | Approved |
| DM2025/01570 Wallington South | Alterations to existing roofline, erection of a dormer extension at rear and 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 Sutton's 17,407 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Sutton's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Sutton'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 Sutton. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 17,407 real decisions from Sutton 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 Sutton'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 17,407 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Sutton is 83.9%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 17,407 planning decisions from Sutton council. 14,598 were approved and 2,809 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Sutton is 83.9%, 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.