Planning applications in Kingston

Planning in Kingston

Kingston refuses more often than the areas we cover, whatever you are building. Of the more than 23,000 planning applications since 2019, about 1 in 4 was refused, against about 1 in 7 across the areas we cover. What stands out is how even it is: every type of home project we track is refused more often here than nationally.

Rear extensions are the largest group, with more than 10,000 applications, and about 1 in 4 was refused, compared with about 1 in 7 nationally. Side extensions, front extensions and porches, garden rooms and outbuildings, fences, walls and gates, and driveways and dropped kerbs are all about 1 in 4. Loft conversions and dormers are about 1 in 4 as well, against about 1 in 5 nationally. Windows and doors are the gentlest category at about 1 in 5, though the national rate is about 1 in 9. Solar panels are the biggest gap: about 1 in 3 refused, compared with about 1 in 9 across the areas we cover. Since nothing is a safe bet here, it pays to check nearby approvals before you finalise a design.

The reasons give a few clues. Of the 77 refusals we read, about four in ten mentioned size, bulk or design. Nearly three in ten said not enough information had been supplied, which you can avoid with complete drawings and a clear description. A little over a quarter raised the look of the street or area, around one in five mentioned highways, and under one in five mentioned neighbours’ light, privacy or outlook.

Neighbouring areas are mostly more relaxed. Kingston refuses more often than Merton and Richmond (both about 1 in 7), Mole Valley and Sutton (both about 1 in 6) and Wandsworth (about 1 in 15), and at much the same rate as Elmbridge (about 1 in 4).

Householder decisions take about 8 weeks at the median, and 83% were decided within 8 weeks over 2023 to 2025. The refusal rate has not shifted: 2025 was about 1 in 4, the same as the three years before. Applications fell to 2,769 from an average of about 3,106 a year earlier, and the busiest year on record was 2021 with 3,621. Kingston has 28 conservation areas, 161 listed buildings and 113 Article 4 directions.

Figures in this section as of 9 October 2026.