Swale planning approval rate
Swale council approved 91.3% of planning applications and refused 8.7%, based on 1,693 decisions analysed. Ranked 153rd out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
91.3%
overall approval rate
1,693
Decisions analysed
1,546
Approved
147
Refused
23
Wards covered
Planning in Swale? 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 Swale. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
88.6%
94.6%
98.5%
94.4%
81.8%
90.5%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Swale, mined from 1,693 proposal descriptions.
87.8%
86.1%
86.7%
80.9%
90.6%
93.5%
93.8%
95.6%
95.5%
97.6%
92.0%
81.0%
70.0%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Swale. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Boughton And Courtenay
94.0%
Hartlip, Newington And Upchurch
92.0%
Sheppey East
83.8%
East Downs
92.9%
Watling
93.9%
Teynham And Lynsted
95.7%
West Downs
93.5%
Bobbing, Iwade And Lower Halstow
82.6%
Abbey
95.2%
Queenborough And Halfway
87.5%
Borden And Grove Park
97.5%
Sheppey Central
89.3%
St. Ann's
94.0%
Sheerness
76.6%
Priory
98.4%
Homewood
94.6%
Chalkwell
89.1%
Minster Cliffs
90.2%
Woodstock
91.1%
Murston
100.0%
Wards in Swale
Boughton And Courtenay
94.0% approval · 166 decisions
Hartlip, Newington And Upchurch
92.0% approval · 137 decisions
Sheppey East
83.8% approval · 99 decisions
East Downs
92.9% approval · 98 decisions
Watling
93.9% approval · 98 decisions
Teynham And Lynsted
95.7% approval · 93 decisions
West Downs
93.5% approval · 93 decisions
Bobbing, Iwade And Lower Halstow
82.6% approval · 86 decisions
Abbey
95.2% approval · 83 decisions
Queenborough And Halfway
87.5% approval · 80 decisions
Borden And Grove Park
97.5% approval · 79 decisions
Sheppey Central
89.3% approval · 75 decisions
St. Ann's
94.0% approval · 67 decisions
Sheerness
76.6% approval · 64 decisions
Priory
98.4% approval · 64 decisions
Homewood
94.6% approval · 56 decisions
Chalkwell
89.1% approval · 55 decisions
Minster Cliffs
90.2% approval · 51 decisions
Woodstock
91.1% approval · 45 decisions
Murston
100.0% approval · 31 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Swale, showing how the council decides real applications.
Erection of a single storey rear extension. · Hartlip, Newington And Upchurch · Thu 13 Aug 2026
Removal of the existing security cabin, relocation and erection of a new onsite · Chalkwell · Thu 13 Aug 2026
Retrospective Planning application for erection of a single storey front and sid · Hartlip, Newington And Upchurch · Thu 13 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Swale, 1 in 11 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 Swale
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Swale →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Swale
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 1,693 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Swale
What is the planning approval rate in Swale?
Based on 1,693 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Swale approved 91.3% of applications and refused 8.7%. The council is ranked 153rd out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Swale?
Swale refuses 8.7% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 11. That is lower than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 1,693 decided applications since 2020, 147 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Swale have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Swale are in Priory (98.4%), Borden And Grove Park (97.5%), and Teynham And Lynsted (95.7%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Swale?
The most common planning application types in Swale are: Full (686 decisions, 88.6% approved), Other (556, 94.6%), and Trees (194, 98.5%).
How long does a planning application take in Swale?
Planning applications in Swale take an average of 14.2 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 1,519 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. Swale decides approximately 282 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Swale?
You can search planning applications in Swale directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 1,693 historical decisions in Swale to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Swale calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Swale'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.