Guildford files conservation-area applications at 3 times the national rate. And listed-building work at 1.7 times.
Guildford Council received 2,777 planning applications in 2025. Of those decided across 2024 and 2025, 85.8% were approved and 14.2% refused, against a national refusal rate of 12.4%. The headline figure is heritage: conservation-area works account for 5.7% of applications submitted to Guildford Council, three times the national share of 1.9%. Listed-building consent applications run at 1.7 times the national rate. This is a Surrey town where the historic built environment drives a large share of what residents submit to the council.
The year in one line
Guildford's application mix in 2025 is defined by heritage: conservation-area works at 3 times the national share and listed-building applications at 1.7 times, the signature of a Surrey town with a dense stock of protected and historic buildings.
What Guildford Is Building
Extensions lead, but conservation-area works set the town apart.
Home extensions were the most common project type in applications submitted to Guildford Council, at 27.9% of all applications, close to the national share of 29.1%. The figures that stand out are heritage: conservation-area works account for 5.7% of applications, three times the national share of 1.9%, and listed-building consent runs at 4.1%, against a national 2.4%. Demolition also runs above average at 14.1% versus 9.1% nationally. This is the application mix of a Surrey town with a dense stock of protected buildings and conservation areas.
Applications submitted to Guildford Council in 2024-2025, by project type.
The heritage effect
Guildford files conservation-area applications at 3 times the national rate and listed-building consent at 1.7 times. With 489 demolition applications also running at 1.6 times the national share, this is a town where the historic environment shapes the planning workload.
The council verdict
A slightly harder yes.
Of applications decided by Guildford Council across 2024 and 2025, 85.8% were approved and 14.2% refused, against a national refusal rate of 12.4%. That is about 1 in 7, modestly above the national norm. The council also received 131 withdrawals in the same period.
About 1 in 7 Guildford applications was turned down.
of decided applications were refused, against a 12.4% national rate. Modestly above the national norm.
Guildford vs The National Norm
A heritage town, by the numbers.
Set Guildford's application mix against the national average and the heritage effect is clear. Conservation-area works feature in 5.7% of applications submitted to Guildford Council, three times the national share of 1.9%. Listed-building consent runs at 4.1%, against a national 2.4%. Demolition also sits above the norm at 14.1% versus 9.1%. Home extensions lead the town, at 27.9% against a national 29.1%. Together the figures point to a Surrey town where the historic built environment creates a distinctly different planning workload.
Guildford submits conservation-area applications at 3 times the national rate, the strongest single marker of the town's planning character.
Each bar is Guildford's share of applications submitted in 2024-2025; the marker is the national share. Conservation-area works is the town's defining outlier.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices held alongside the building work.
Permission may be harder to win here, but Guildford remains one of the more expensive places in the country to own a home.
Guildford's planning data tells a clear story. The town submits conservation-area applications at three times the national rate and listed-building consent at 1.7 times, a direct reflection of the historic stock that defines the town. Refusals run slightly above the national average at about 1 in 7. For anyone buying or extending in Guildford, the heritage designation of a property is the key planning variable to understand before making an offer.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to Guildford Council 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, across applications with a decision. 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 Guildford 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 Guildford Council, from conservation-area and listed-building work to extensions and refusals. Open any one to see its full record.
97 Christmas Pie Avenue, Normandy GU3 2EW
An existing conservatory was demolished and replaced with a single-storey extension, the kind of demolition-and-rebuild application Guildford files at above the national rate.
See this property's full recordCherry Tree Cottage Stroud Common, Shamley Green GU5 0SZ
A certificate of lawfulness for a 2 metre high fence was refused, one of the roughly 1 in 7 applications the council turned down.
See this property's full record13 Artington Walk GU2 4EA
A loft conversion with rear dormer and front rooflights, the type of work Guildford files at above the national rate. It was approved.
See this property's full record66 Broomfield GU2 8LJ
A proposed rear extension and change of use to a shared house was withdrawn before the council reached a decision.
See this property's full record51 Pewley Way GU1 3PZ
A ground and first floor rear and side extension, the most common project type in Guildford, was approved with driveway and landscaping works.
See this property's full record12 Merrow Place GU4 7DL
Roof space was turned into habitable accommodation with two rear rooflights, granted in part as a retrospective application.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Guildford?
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