How likely is my planning application to get approved in Croydon?

Planning approval in Croydon isn't something you can predict from a quick Google search. The borough spans everything from dense inner-city streets to Green Belt edges, and the rules that apply to your neighbour's house might not apply to yours. That complexity is exactly why tools like WhatCanIBuild exist — to cut through the noise and tell you what actually applies to your address.

It's not just about what you're building

Most people think planning is about the project — how big is the extension, how high is the loft. But in Croydon, the where matters just as much as the what. Properties in the south of the borough sit close to or within Green Belt land, where the rules around development are significantly tighter. The town centre and surrounding areas are subject to specific regeneration policies that can cut both ways — sometimes enabling more, sometimes restricting things you'd assume were fine.

Then there are conservation areas, Article 4 directions, and listed building designations. Most homeowners don't realise these exist until their application runs into trouble. And they don't just affect whether you need permission — they affect whether you're likely to get it.

Your street matters more than you think

Even within the same postcode, outcomes can vary dramatically from one street to the next. A side extension approved at number 12 doesn't mean the same application will sail through at number 18. Previous decisions on your street, the specific constraints attached to your plot, and even how your property has been modified before — all of it feeds into how an application is assessed.

This is the part that trips people up most. It's not enough to know you're in CR0 or CR2. What matters is what's been approved and refused nearby, and why — and that's something WhatCanIBuild can show you at a property level, not just a borough level.

The gap between knowing and understanding

You might already know you're in a conservation area — that's findable. What's harder to know is what that actually means for your specific project, on your specific property, given what's already been approved or refused nearby. Those are the questions that determine whether your application is likely to succeed or quietly get refused after eight weeks and a £258 fee.

Guessing — or going ahead without checking — is a gamble most homeowners don't realise they're taking. The best way to understand your actual approval odds is to look at the data for your address, not the borough as a whole.

WhatCanIBuild gives you a property-level picture: the constraints, the local precedents, and what similar projects nearby have had approved or refused. It's the difference between a rough guess and an informed decision.