Planning permission in Bromley
What actually happens to planning applications decided by London Borough of Bromley: approval rates, decision times, appeal odds and the development plan they are judged against. Figures cover 8,875 applications decided in the two years to July 2026, from the council's public planning register.
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How long does planning permission take in Bromley?
Half of decided applications took 56 days or less from validation to decision. The middle 50% of applications took between 50 and 77 days, and 60.4% were decided inside the 8-week statutory target for minor applications. Complex or contested schemes take longer.
The Bromley local plan
Decisions are made against the London Plan (2021) and the Bromley Local Plan (adopted 2019).
A Local Plan review is at an early stage (Regulation 18 consultations in 2023 and 2025); the 2019 plan remains the adopted framework.
What tends to shape decisions here: Over half the borough is Metropolitan Green Belt or Metropolitan Open Land, which is the decisive constraint for most outer-Bromley sites, alongside 44 conservation areas, the Kent Downs National Landscape and Biggin Hill airport safeguarding. Housing delivery has fallen well short of target, so the tilted balance is frequently engaged.
If Bromley says no: appeal odds
Between 2021 and 2025 the Planning Inspectorate overturned 33.7% of appealed Bromley refusals (342 of 1,016 decided appeals). The national average is 31.1%. More detail, including how Bromley ranks nationally: planning appeals in Bromley.
Source: decisions published on the London Borough of Bromley public planning register, two years to July 2026. Approval rate = approvals divided by approvals plus refusals; withdrawn applications and other outcomes are excluded. We track 33,054 Bromley applications in total. Plan facts as of July 2026; always check the council's own pages for the latest position.
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