Swale Council approves 91.3% of planning applications, based on 1,693 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Swale sits 2.7 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 1,693 decided applications published since January 2020, Swale Council approved 91.3% of planning applications. The national average approval rate across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Swale 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 Swale.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 608 | 78 | 686 | 88.6% |
| Other | 526 | 30 | 556 | 94.6% |
| Trees | 191 | 3 | 194 | 98.5% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 89 | 20 | 109 | 81.7% |
| Listed Building | 68 | 4 | 72 | 94.4% |
| Prior Approval | 45 | 10 | 55 | 81.8% |
| Advertisement | 19 | 2 | 21 | 90.5% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boughton And Courtenay | 156 | 10 | 166 | 94.0% |
| Hartlip, Newington And Upchurch | 126 | 11 | 137 | 92.0% |
| Sheppey East | 83 | 16 | 99 | 83.8% |
| East Downs | 91 | 7 | 98 | 92.9% |
| Watling | 92 | 6 | 98 | 93.9% |
| Teynham And Lynsted | 89 | 4 | 93 | 95.7% |
| West Downs | 87 | 6 | 93 | 93.5% |
| Bobbing, Iwade And Lower Halstow | 71 | 15 | 86 | 82.6% |
| Abbey | 79 | 4 | 83 | 95.2% |
| Queenborough And Halfway | 70 | 10 | 80 | 87.5% |
| Borden And Grove Park | 77 | 2 | 79 | 97.5% |
| Sheppey Central | 67 | 8 | 75 | 89.3% |
| St. Ann's | 63 | 4 | 67 | 94.0% |
| Sheerness | 49 | 15 | 64 | 76.6% |
| Priory | 63 | 1 | 64 | 98.4% |
| Homewood | 53 | 3 | 56 | 94.6% |
| Chalkwell | 49 | 6 | 55 | 89.1% |
| Minster Cliffs | 46 | 5 | 51 | 90.2% |
| Woodstock | 41 | 4 | 45 | 91.1% |
| Murston | 31 | 0 | 31 | 100.0% |
| Kemsley | 28 | 3 | 31 | 90.3% |
| Milton Regis | 24 | 6 | 30 | 80.0% |
| Roman | 11 | 1 | 12 | 91.7% |
How Swale’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, up 2.6pp since 2023.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Swale council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 26/502378/FULL Hartlip, Newington And Upchurch | Erection of a single storey rear extension. | Approved |
| 26/502240/FULL Chalkwell | Removal of the existing security cabin, relocation and erection of a new onsite | Approved |
| 26/502166/FULL Hartlip, Newington And Upchurch | Retrospective Planning application for erection of a single storey front and sid | Approved |
| 26/501883/FULL Sheppey East | Change of use of residential dwelling to a house of multiple occupation consisti | Refused |
| 26/502207/FULL Milton Regis | Erection of a single storey rear and side extension. | Approved |
| 26/502195/LBC Sheppey Central | Listed Building Consent for proposed replacement of modern cement render with ne | Approved |
| 26/502448/FULL Watling | Conversion of existing garage into habitable space. | Approved |
| 26/502169/FULL West Downs | Erection of single storey rear extension and changes to fenestration. | Approved |
| 26/502189/FULL Hartlip, Newington And Upchurch | Erection of 1no. side dormer and 1no. flush fitting rooflight. | Approved |
| 26/502042/FULL Boughton And Courtenay | Demolition of existing single storey extension and the erection of a two storey | 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 Swale's 1,693 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Swale's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Swale'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 Swale. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 1,693 real decisions from Swale 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 Swale'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 1,693 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Swale is 91.3%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 1,693 planning decisions from Swale council. 1,546 were approved and 147 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Swale is 91.3%, 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 Swale? 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.