Swale Council approves 87.7% of planning applications, based on 859 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Swale sits 2.7 percentage points above the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 859 decided applications on record (March 2023 to September 2026), Swale Council approved 87.7% of planning applications. The national average approval rate across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Swale council planning portal records · Data to 29 September 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 | 661 | 81 | 742 | 89.1% |
| Other | 567 | 30 | 597 | 95.0% |
| Trees | 207 | 3 | 210 | 98.6% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 97 | 23 | 120 | 80.8% |
| Listed Building | 71 | 6 | 77 | 92.2% |
| Prior Approval | 49 | 10 | 59 | 83.1% |
| Advertisement | 22 | 2 | 24 | 91.7% |
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 | 168 | 11 | 179 | 93.9% |
| Hartlip, Newington And Upchurch | 145 | 13 | 158 | 91.8% |
| East Downs | 101 | 7 | 108 | 93.5% |
| Watling | 100 | 6 | 106 | 94.3% |
| Sheppey East | 88 | 16 | 104 | 84.6% |
| West Downs | 96 | 6 | 102 | 94.1% |
| Teynham And Lynsted | 94 | 4 | 98 | 95.9% |
| Bobbing, Iwade And Lower Halstow | 78 | 16 | 94 | 83.0% |
| Queenborough And Halfway | 79 | 11 | 90 | 87.8% |
| Abbey | 85 | 4 | 89 | 95.5% |
| Borden And Grove Park | 85 | 2 | 87 | 97.7% |
| Sheppey Central | 70 | 8 | 78 | 89.7% |
| Sheerness | 53 | 18 | 71 | 74.6% |
| St. Ann's | 65 | 4 | 69 | 94.2% |
| Priory | 65 | 1 | 66 | 98.5% |
| Homewood | 58 | 3 | 61 | 95.1% |
| Chalkwell | 50 | 6 | 56 | 89.3% |
| Minster Cliffs | 47 | 5 | 52 | 90.4% |
| Woodstock | 43 | 4 | 47 | 91.5% |
| Murston | 34 | 0 | 34 | 100.0% |
| Milton Regis | 28 | 6 | 34 | 82.4% |
| Kemsley | 31 | 3 | 34 | 91.2% |
| Roman | 11 | 1 | 12 | 91.7% |
How Swale’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, up 2.8pp 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 26/503259/FULL East Downs | Erection of a single storey rear extension. | Approved |
| 26/503093/FULL Homewood | Erection of a detached single-storey ancillary family annexe within the resident | Approved |
| 26/502683/FULL Sheerness | Retrospective application for loft conversion including 1no. rear dormer to allo | Refused |
| 26/502898/FULL Bobbing, Iwade And Lower Halstow | Raise ridge to side extension, replacement of rear porch, new flue and alteratio | Approved |
| 26/502626/SUB East Downs | Submission of details pursuant to condition 8 Window and door details, Subject t | Approved |
| 26/502565/FULL Sheerness | Erection of 1st and 2nd floor rear extension to form 2no residential flats and a | Refused |
| 26/502566/LBC Sheerness | Listed Building Consent for erection of 1st and 2nd floor rear extension to form | Refused |
| 26/501320/FULL Queenborough And Halfway | Erection of a two storey commercial unit for Use Classes B2/B8, with associated | Approved |
| 26/503160/LAWPRO Woodstock | Lawful development certificate for proposed loft conversion with rear dormer and | Approved |
| 26/502940/FULL Milton Regis | Erection of single storey side extension with roof alterations, including pitche | 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 859 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 859 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 859 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Swale is 87.7%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 859 planning decisions from Swale council. 753 were approved and 106 were refused. These figures cover every decision on record for the council, March 2023 to September 2026.
The average approval rate in Swale is 87.7%, 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.