Kingston upon Thames planning permission: 82% approved, with a design guide that generally limits rear extensions to 3m to 3.5m

Kingston upon Thames granted 82.0% of the householder applications it decided in the 2025-26 financial year, 628 of 766, with 138 refused. That is below the London rate of 85.6% across 24,758 decisions and the England rate of 90.3%. The council decided 93.2% of its standard cases within eight weeks, so decisions are fast even where approval is less certain.

The council's own list names 26, including Kingston Old Town, Surbiton Town Centre, Coombe Hill, Kingston Hill and Old Malden. The national planning register records 28 entries for the borough, so the two sources differ. Check the council's heritage map for your address, because conservation areas remove the side extension right and tighten the rear depth limit.

The council lists three, and none removes extension rights from a residential street. One removes the commercial to residential Class MA right across 39 areas of town centres, local centres and industrial estates. One removes fencing rights at Seething Wells Filter Beds. One removes demolition rights at two lodges on Kingston Hill. Conservation areas bring separate restrictions.

Permitted development allows 3m beyond the rear wall of a semi-detached house, or 6m with neighbour prior approval. A full planning application is judged against the council's Residential Design SPD, which says single storey rear extensions should generally not exceed 3m to 3.5m and at least 50% of the rear garden should remain. A deeper scheme needs a strong case.

Kingston refused 35 of 77 large home extension prior approvals in 2025-26, 45.5%. That is the second highest share among London boroughs with a published figure, after Greenwich, and well above Hillingdon at 8.6%. The route is decided on neighbour amenity, so an objection from an adjoining owner means the council assesses neighbour amenity and may refuse, and a full application at a smaller depth is the alternative.

Better than the London average. The Planning Inspectorate allowed 44.6% of householder appeals against Kingston over the five years to 30 June 2026, 70 of 157, compared with 39.9% across London and 34.4% in England. An appeal takes months and is judged on the same policies, so a revised application is often quicker than contesting a refusal.

It is a daylight test the council applies to extensions. New buildings and extensions should not encroach on a line drawn at 45 degrees from the midpoint of the closest window to a habitable room in a neighbouring property. The council says it is only an indicator, so levels and orientation also count. Drawings that show the line on plan and section answer the point.

Possibly, through Class MA prior approval, but not in the 39 areas covered by Kingston's Article 4 direction. The council made the direction on 30 July 2021, and the modified direction came into force on 14 June 2023 for parts of the main and local centres, industrial estates and business parks. Outside those areas the right is available if the use has run for two years and the other Class MA conditions are met.

Yes. The council's homeowner pages describe a fast-track option. The page says all applications must be submitted through the Planning Portal, the fast-track request must be stated at the start of the proposal description, and the service carries an additional fee on top of the statutory fee. The statutory decision time is normally eight weeks. A complete drawing set is what avoids delay either way.

The whole royal borough, including Kingston upon Thames, Surbiton, New Malden, Chessington, Tolworth, Coombe and Old Malden. The council decides every application against the same local plan, so the process is the same across postcodes. What changes is the constraint map: conservation areas and Article 4 directions sit in specific places, which is why we check the address first.