Bolton Council approves 85.5% of planning applications, based on 4,833 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Bolton sits 3.1 percentage points below the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 361 decided applications, Bolton Council approved 79.5% of planning applications in 2025. Across 4,833 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Bolton is 85.5%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Bolton council planning portal records · Updated August 2026 · Quote freely with attribution
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Not all applications are treated equally. Extension types, listed building consent, and change of use applications each have very different success rates in Bolton.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 1,448 | 250 | 1,698 | 85.3% |
| Trees | 978 | 91 | 1,069 | 91.5% |
| Change of Use | 510 | 97 | 607 | 84.0% |
| Other | 367 | 121 | 488 | 75.2% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 259 | 53 | 312 | 83.0% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 222 | 14 | 236 | 94.1% |
| Advertisement | 192 | 24 | 216 | 88.9% |
| Prior Approval | 104 | 41 | 145 | 71.7% |
| Listed Building | 51 | 11 | 62 | 82.3% |
A loft conversion in one ward can have a 90% approval rate. In the next ward, 55%. The free check tells you which side you're on, your free property report is emailed in minutes.
Check My PostcodeWard-level data reveals where planning applications are most and least likely to succeed. Officers, local policies, and neighbourhood character all play a role.
| Ward | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heaton And Lostock | 418 | 46 | 464 | 90.1% |
| Bromley Cross | 369 | 44 | 413 | 89.3% |
| Great Lever | 265 | 52 | 317 | 83.6% |
| Astley Bridge | 253 | 52 | 305 | 83.0% |
| Smithills | 226 | 44 | 270 | 83.7% |
| Hulton | 207 | 39 | 246 | 84.1% |
| Halliwell | 208 | 32 | 240 | 86.7% |
| Bradshaw | 194 | 26 | 220 | 88.2% |
| Heaton, Lostock & Chew Moor | 185 | 26 | 211 | 87.7% |
| Horwich And Blackrod | 184 | 16 | 200 | 92.0% |
| Crompton | 139 | 32 | 171 | 81.3% |
| Rumworth | 131 | 27 | 158 | 82.9% |
| Queens Park & Central | 108 | 36 | 144 | 75.0% |
| Tonge With The Haulgh | 111 | 28 | 139 | 79.9% |
| Westhoughton North | 123 | 16 | 139 | 88.5% |
| Westhoughton South | 108 | 23 | 131 | 82.4% |
| Kearsley | 114 | 16 | 130 | 87.7% |
| Horwich North East | 114 | 14 | 128 | 89.1% |
| Little Lever And Darcy Lever | 105 | 19 | 124 | 84.7% |
| Breightmet | 114 | 9 | 123 | 92.7% |
| Horwich North | 80 | 22 | 102 | 78.4% |
| Westhoughton North & Hunger Hill | 80 | 14 | 94 | 85.1% |
| Horwich South & Blackrod | 72 | 13 | 85 | 84.7% |
| Harper Green | 64 | 12 | 76 | 84.2% |
| Farnworth North | 53 | 13 | 66 | 80.3% |
Showing top 25 of 27 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Bolton’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, down 8.4pp since 2018.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Bolton council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 01130/26 Tonge With The Haulgh | ERECTION OF SINGLE STOREY REAR EXTENSION | Approved |
| 01094/26 Halliwell | ERECTION OF FRONT PORCH AND PART SINGLE/PART TWO STOREY REAR EXTENSION TOGETHER | Approved |
| 01091/26 Smithills | RETROSPECTIVE APPLICATION FOR ERECTION OF SINGLE STOREY FRONT AND REAR EXTENSION | Approved |
| 00820/26 Tonge With The Haulgh | DEMOLITION OF EXISTING DWELLING AND ERECTION OF 6 NO. DWELLINGS TOGETHER WITH AS | Refused |
| 01119/26 Great Lever | ERECTION OF A PART SINGLE/PART TWO STOREY SIDE AND PART FIRST/PART TWO STOREY RE | Approved |
| 01113/26 Heaton, Lostock & Chew Moor | DEMOLITION OF EXISTING GARAGE AND ERECTION OF PORCH, TWO STOREY SIDE AND SINGLE | Refused |
| 00598/26 Great Lever | ERECTION OF FRONT PORCH, TWO STOREY SIDE EXTENSION AND INSTALLATION OF REAR DORM | Approved |
| 00332/26 Smithills | LISTED BUILDING CONSENT FOR ROOF AND RAINWATER GOODS REPAIRS INCLUDING SPLICE RE | Approved |
| 00252/26 Farnworth South | DEMOLITION OF 2NO. EXISTING SINGLE STOREY BUILDINGS TOGETHER WITH THE ERECTION O | Approved |
| 01137/26 Horwich North | ERECTION OF SINGLE STOREY REAR EXTENSION AND ALTERATIONS TO GARAGE ROOF | Approved |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your free property report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on Bolton's 4,833 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Bolton's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Bolton's planning statistics, by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Yes. PlanningLens offers a free planning permission check for Bolton. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 4,833 real decisions from Bolton council. The full property-specific report is also free and emailed within minutes.
Enter your postcode on PlanningLens for a free instant check based on Bolton's real planning decisions. The free property report goes further: it analyses the 20 nearest comparable decisions to your property, ward-level refusal patterns, and approval rates by application type. Free and emailed within minutes.
Based on 4,833 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Bolton is 85.5%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 4,833 planning decisions from Bolton council. 4,131 were approved and 702 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Bolton is 85.5%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the free PlanningLens postcode check to get a personalised score.
Writing about planning in Bolton? These figures are free to republish with attribution. Copy the one-line citation, or paste the stat box into any website, CMS or newsletter, it carries its own styling and links back to this page for verification.