What are the most common reasons planning applications get refused in Medway?

Getting refused planning permission in Medway isn't just about a bad design or a tricky neighbour. Most refusals happen because homeowners didn't realise their property was already subject to restrictions that made their project far harder to approve — before they'd even submitted. WhatCanIBuild exists precisely because that gap between what you assume and what actually applies to your address is where applications go wrong.

"I didn't know my property was different"

This is the single most common starting point for a refusal. Medway Council covers a wide and varied area — from urban Chatham and Rochester through to semi-rural fringes bordering the Kent Downs AONB. Properties in or near that AONB sit on what's known as Article 1(5) land, where permitted development rights are significantly restricted. Most homeowners in those areas have no idea until they're told no.

Then there are the 24 conservation areas. External changes that would be perfectly fine a few streets away can require full planning permission — and face a much higher bar for approval — simply because of where your house sits. It doesn't matter how sympathetic the design is if the proposal conflicts with the character that the conservation area was designated to protect.

Article 4 directions: the rule change nobody told you about

Medway has 47 Article 4 directions affecting specific streets. What this means in practice is that permitted development rights — the things you'd normally be allowed to do without applying — have been removed for particular properties. Extensions, alterations, even changes to windows or doors that your neighbour could do freely might require formal permission at your address.

Most homeowners don't realise Article 4 directions exist, let alone whether one applies to their street. And because they're street-specific rather than area-wide, there's no simple way to guess. The best way to know what applies to your exact address is to check your property on WhatCanIBuild, which maps these constraints directly to your postcode.

"But my neighbour got it approved"

This is where it gets genuinely complicated. Two semi-detached houses can face completely different outcomes for the same project. One might sit within a conservation area boundary, have a different planning history, or fall under an Article 4 direction that its mirror-image neighbour doesn't. What was approved next door tells you almost nothing about what will happen to your application.

Refusals in Medway also reflect local patterns — certain project types, in certain parts of the borough, get refused more consistently than others. Understanding those patterns isn't something you can piece together from general guidance. It requires knowing what's actually been decided nearby, and why.

What your property's record actually shows

Before spending £548 on a householder application — and eight weeks waiting for a decision — it's worth understanding your real approval odds. WhatCanIBuild shows you what's been approved and refused for similar projects near your address, how your property's specific combination of constraints affects your chances, and whether projects like yours on your street have a track record of success or refusal. That's the kind of intelligence that changes whether you apply, how you apply, or whether you redesign first.