Waltham Forest Council approves 79.1% of planning applications, based on 21,278 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. Waltham Forest sits 8.8 percentage points below the national average.
Enter your postcode for a personalised approval likelihood score — 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 Waltham Forest.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 11,689 | 2,622 | 14,311 | 81.7% |
| Full | 3,948 | 1,109 | 5,057 | 78.1% |
| Prior Approval | 1,194 | 716 | 1,910 | 62.5% |
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leytonstone | 215 | 79 | 294 | 73.1% |
| Hoe Street | 230 | 58 | 288 | 79.9% |
| HOE STREET | 274 | 12 | 286 | 95.8% |
| GROVE GREEN | 274 | 8 | 282 | 97.2% |
| Grove Green | 209 | 66 | 275 | 76.0% |
| LEYTONSTONE | 263 | 12 | 275 | 95.6% |
| HIGH STREET | 247 | 12 | 259 | 95.4% |
| Chapel End | 211 | 47 | 258 | 81.8% |
| Wood Street | 208 | 45 | 253 | 82.2% |
| FOREST | 227 | 22 | 249 | 91.2% |
| Chingford Green | 176 | 65 | 241 | 73.0% |
| LEA BRIDGE | 232 | 7 | 239 | 97.1% |
| Lea Bridge | 168 | 69 | 237 | 70.9% |
| High Street | 185 | 50 | 235 | 78.7% |
| William Morris | 174 | 55 | 229 | 76.0% |
| Cann Hall | 173 | 54 | 227 | 76.2% |
| Forest | 168 | 48 | 216 | 77.8% |
| Leyton | 157 | 56 | 213 | 73.7% |
| LEYTON | 211 | 2 | 213 | 99.1% |
| Markhouse | 163 | 40 | 203 | 80.3% |
| MARKHOUSE | 195 | 4 | 199 | 98.0% |
| Larkswood | 154 | 42 | 196 | 78.6% |
| Valley | 137 | 57 | 194 | 70.6% |
| CATHALL | 186 | 4 | 190 | 97.9% |
| Endlebury | 144 | 45 | 189 | 76.2% |
Showing top 25 of 44 wards by volume. Your Pro Report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →Real residential planning decisions from Waltham Forest council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 251380 Hoe Street | Lawful Development Certificate (Proposed) - Construction of dormer roof extensio | Approved |
| 250749 Forest | Lawful Development Certificate (Proposed) - Construction of a hip to gable side | Refused |
| 242453 St James | Construction of a two storey rear extension to provide two additional self-conta | Refused |
| 250730 Chapel End | Construction of a single storey wraparound rear extension, dormer roof ext | Approved |
| 250629 Upper Walthamstow | Construction of a single storey outbuilding within rear garden. | Refused |
| 250826 Leytonstone | Construction of a single storey rear wraparound extension with the creation of a | Approved |
| 250792 Larkswood | Construction of a hip to gable side roof extension, two storey side extension an | Refused |
| 250878 Valley | Lawful Development Certificate (Existing)-Use of property as a residential | Approved |
| 250678 Leyton | Installation of 12 no. non-illuminated graphic signs at front elevation and fro | Approved |
| 250753 Chingford Green | Construction of a single storey rear extension. | Approved |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your Pro Report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on Waltham Forest's 21,278 real decisions. Delivered by email in minutes.
Get My Pro Report — £79Compare Waltham Forest's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Waltham Forest's planning statistics — by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Based on 21,278 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Waltham Forest is 79.1%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. However, rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 21,278 planning decisions from Waltham Forest council. 16,831 were approved and 4,447 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Waltham Forest is 79.1%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the PlanningLens free postcode check to get a personalised score.