Planning approval rate
London boroughs ranked by planning approval rate, 12 months to 1 November 2026. Share of decided applications approved in the last 12 months. Boroughs with fewer than 20 decisions aren’t ranked.
| Rank | Borough | Planning approval rate | Decided (12 months) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | City of London | 91% | 1,666 |
| 2 | Southwark | 89% | 3,286 |
| 3 | Hammersmith and Fulham | 89% | 1,270 |
| 4 | Wandsworth | 89% | 3,690 |
| 5 | Merton | 88% | 1,320 |
| 6 | Camden | 87% | 1,351 |
| 7 | Hillingdon | 84% | 2,465 |
| 8 | Tower Hamlets | 84% | 1,519 |
| 9 | Westminster | 79% | 8,465 |
| 10 | Hounslow | 78% | 2,395 |
| 11 | Lewisham | 78% | 1,771 |
| 12 | Enfield | 77% | 3,941 |
| 13 | Waltham Forest | 77% | 1,915 |
| 14 | Bexley | 77% | 2,075 |
| 15 | Brent | 76% | 1,395 |
| 16 | Haringey | 75% | 2,231 |
| 17 | Newham | 75% | 2,362 |
| 18 | Kensington and Chelsea | 74% | 881 |
| 19 | Lambeth | 71% | 3,204 |
| 20 | Croydon | 71% | 3,057 |
| 21 | Islington | 70% | 2,225 |
| 22 | Redbridge | 69% | 2,798 |
| 23 | Hackney | 69% | 2,295 |
| 24 | Barnet | 69% | 4,488 |
| 25 | Kingston upon Thames | 68% | 2,531 |
| 26 | Harrow | 67% | 1,729 |
| 27 | Sutton | 66% | 1,677 |
| 28 | Richmond upon Thames | 66% | 3,197 |
| 29 | Barking and Dagenham | 63% | 553 |
| 30 | Ealing | 56% | 3,692 |
| 31 | Havering | 51% | 2,313 |
Not ranked
We don’t rank a borough whose published planning data has fewer than 20 relevant decisions in the window, or, for approval rates, one that records no refusals at all across 100 or more decisions: that means we can’t yet read how the council words its decisions.
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Figures computed from decided planning applications published by each borough: the October 2026 snapshot, computed 10 October 2026. Coverage: 33 London planning authorities. A borough with fewer than 20 decisions in the window is shown as “too few decisions” rather than ranked, and one that records no refusals across 100 or more decisions is left unranked until we can read its decision wording. See the methodology.