Swale Council approves 91.3% of planning applications, based on 1,657 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 1,657 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 | 591 | 75 | 666 | 88.7% |
| Other | 516 | 30 | 546 | 94.5% |
| Trees | 189 | 3 | 192 | 98.4% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 89 | 20 | 109 | 81.7% |
| Listed Building | 66 | 4 | 70 | 94.3% |
| Prior Approval | 43 | 10 | 53 | 81.1% |
| 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 | 152 | 10 | 162 | 93.8% |
| Hartlip, Newington And Upchurch | 118 | 11 | 129 | 91.5% |
| Sheppey East | 83 | 15 | 98 | 84.7% |
| Watling | 90 | 6 | 96 | 93.8% |
| East Downs | 88 | 7 | 95 | 92.6% |
| Teynham And Lynsted | 88 | 4 | 92 | 95.7% |
| West Downs | 86 | 6 | 92 | 93.5% |
| Bobbing, Iwade And Lower Halstow | 70 | 15 | 85 | 82.4% |
| Abbey | 79 | 4 | 83 | 95.2% |
| Borden And Grove Park | 76 | 2 | 78 | 97.4% |
| Queenborough And Halfway | 69 | 9 | 78 | 88.5% |
| Sheppey Central | 65 | 7 | 72 | 90.3% |
| St. Ann's | 62 | 4 | 66 | 93.9% |
| Sheerness | 49 | 15 | 64 | 76.6% |
| Priory | 62 | 1 | 63 | 98.4% |
| Chalkwell | 48 | 6 | 54 | 88.9% |
| Homewood | 50 | 3 | 53 | 94.3% |
| Minster Cliffs | 46 | 5 | 51 | 90.2% |
| Woodstock | 41 | 4 | 45 | 91.1% |
| Murston | 31 | 0 | 31 | 100.0% |
| Milton Regis | 23 | 6 | 29 | 79.3% |
| Kemsley | 26 | 3 | 29 | 89.7% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 26/502230/FULL Boughton And Courtenay | Replacement of existing tented gazebo structure with new oak framed covered seat | Approved |
| 26/501950/FULL Borden And Grove Park | Removal of existing front porch, detached garage and garden shed. Erection of ne | Approved |
| 26/500670/FULL Minster Cliffs | Retrospective application for the retention of a detached garden outbuilding and | Refused |
| 26/502517/NMAMD Watling | Non Material Amendment to 25/500593/FULL: Erection of 3 no. 3-bedroom detached h | Approved |
| 26/502182/LBC Boughton And Courtenay | Listed Building for replacement of existing gutters with larger of a similar pro | Approved |
| 26/502162/FULL Hartlip, Newington And Upchurch | Demolition of rear conservatory and erection of single storey rear extension inc | Approved |
| 26/501263/FULL Abbey | Conversion of the existing front garden to form a single off-street parking spac | Refused |
| 24/504299/SUB Watling | Submission of details to condition 5 (Rooflights) Subject to 24/504303/FULL and | Approved |
| 22/500750/FULL Teynham And Lynsted | Erection of two office and welfare buildings and replacement tray store includin | Approved |
| 26/502127/FULL Watling | Erection of a single storey rear extension to create en-suite, including new fla | 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 1,657 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 1,657 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 1,657 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 1,657 planning decisions from Swale council. 1,513 were approved and 144 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.