Gillingham turns houses into shared homes at more than six times the national rate.
Medway Council received 773 planning applications in the Gillingham area in 2025 and approved 89.5% of the decisions it reached, above the national rate of 87.6%. What sets the town apart is HMO conversion work: 7.8% of all applications were to convert houses into shared homes, against a national share of 1.2%. Change of use to residential and dormers also ran well above the national average. This is the planning signature of a town intensifying the housing it already has.
The year in one line
Gillingham approves planning work above the national rate, files HMO conversions at more than six times the national share, change of use to residential at 3.6 times, and dormers at twice the national rate, the mark of a town intensifying its existing housing stock.
What Gillingham Is Building
Extensions lead, but HMO and conversion work set the town apart.
Home extensions were the most common project type, at 30.5% of all applications, close to the national norm. The figures that set Gillingham apart sit in conversion work: dormers made up 12.5% of applications submitted to Medway Council in 2025, HMO conversions 7.8%, change of use to residential 7.9%, and demolition 14.5%. This is the application mix of a town reworking and intensifying the homes it already has.
Applications submitted to Medway Council in the Gillingham area, 2024-2025 pooled, by project type.
The conversion effect
Gillingham files HMO conversions at 6.4 times the national rate, change of use to residential at 3.6 times, dormers at 2.1 times, and loft conversions at 1.9 times. The work is concentrated in reworking existing buildings.
The council verdict
Above the national average, 1 in 9 refused.
Medway Council approved 89.5% of the applications it decided in the Gillingham area across 2024-2025, above the national rate of 87.6%. About 1 in 9 applications was refused, compared with 1 in 8 nationally. The council approved 1,120 and refused 132 of the 1,252 decided.
About 1 in 9 Gillingham applications was turned down, below the national rate.
applications refused by Medway Council in the Gillingham area, better than the national rate of 1 in 8. The approval rate of 89.5% sits above the 87.6% national norm.
Gillingham vs The National Norm
A town of conversions, by the numbers.
Set Gillingham's application mix against the national average and the conversion effect is clear. HMO conversions feature in 7.8% of applications submitted to Medway Council in the Gillingham area, more than six times the national share of 1.2%. Change of use to residential runs at 3.6 times the national rate. Dormers, demolition and loft conversions all sit well above the national norm too. The one category the town does notably less of is listed-building work, at 0.8% against 2.4% nationally.
Gillingham files HMO conversions at more than six times the national rate, the single largest divergence from the national application mix.
Each bar is Gillingham's share of applications submitted in 2024-2025; the marker is the national share. HMO conversions are the town's defining outlier.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices rose alongside the building work.
The reworking of existing homes came as values climbed: the average Gillingham home sold for more in the latest full year than the year before.
Gillingham's planning data tells a clear story. This is a town intensifying the homes it already has. Owners and landlords file HMO conversions at more than six times the national rate and convert commercial space to residential at 3.6 times the norm. The council says yes above the national average, refusals run below the national rate, and retrospective applications are well below the national share too. The defining feature here is conversion of existing stock at a scale that stands out clearly against any comparator.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to Medway Council in the Gillingham area in 2025 (volume) and 2024-2025 pooled (shares and rates), classified from each application's published description. Shares are each category as a percentage of all applications in scope.
Decision Rates
Approval rate is approvals as a share of approvals plus refusals, over the 1,252 decided applications across 2024-2025. The national benchmarks are computed the same way across all decided applications in England and Wales.
Sales Data
HM Land Registry Price Paid Data for the Gillingham post town, the latest full year's completions, with growth measured against the previous year.
The Real Applications
Open the planning applications behind the numbers.
These are real applications submitted to Medway Council in the Gillingham area, from HMO conversions and change of use to residential to extensions and a pair of refusals. Open any one to see its full record.
257 Marlborough Road ME7 5HS
A lawful development certificate confirmed an existing use as a shared home (HMO), the conversion type Gillingham files at more than six times the national rate. The council approved it.
See this property's full record5 Stopford Road ME7 4NG
A house was confirmed as a three-bed shared home for up to six people, one of the many HMO conversions the council waved through.
See this property's full record56 Chalfont Drive ME8 9DN
A garage was converted into a habitable room with the door opening filled in, a small piece of the conversion work that defines the town. Permission was granted.
See this property's full record3 Kingswood Road ME7 1DZ
A bid to confirm an existing six-person shared home was turned down, one of the roughly 1 in 9 applications the council refused.
See this property's full record1 Ringwood Close ME8 0DX
A change to a roof and an enlarged dormer window was refused, a reminder that even minor amendments can fail.
See this property's full record16 Hickory Dell, Hempstead ME7 3SL
A single-storey rear extension was approved alongside the removal of a conservatory, the most common project type submitted in the area.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Gillingham?
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