Bolton Council approves 80.4% of planning applications, based on 2,199 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Bolton sits 4.6 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 2,199 decisions on record (March 2006 to September 2026), the overall approval rate in Bolton is 80.4%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Bolton council planning portal records · Data to 29 September 2026 · Quote freely with attribution
Enter your postcode for a free, personalised approval pattern report, based on your ward and application type.
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 | 1,519 | 274 | 1,793 | 84.7% |
| Trees | 1,009 | 94 | 1,103 | 91.5% |
| Change of Use | 514 | 98 | 612 | 84.0% |
| Other | 376 | 125 | 501 | 75.0% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 266 | 55 | 321 | 82.9% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 223 | 14 | 237 | 94.1% |
| Advertisement | 196 | 27 | 223 | 87.9% |
| Prior Approval | 107 | 41 | 148 | 72.3% |
| Listed Building | 52 | 11 | 63 | 82.5% |
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 | 381 | 47 | 428 | 89.0% |
| Great Lever | 271 | 54 | 325 | 83.4% |
| Astley Bridge | 258 | 53 | 311 | 83.0% |
| Smithills | 229 | 47 | 276 | 83.0% |
| Hulton | 211 | 41 | 252 | 83.7% |
| Halliwell | 215 | 33 | 248 | 86.7% |
| Heaton, Lostock & Chew Moor | 208 | 30 | 238 | 87.4% |
| Bradshaw | 204 | 28 | 232 | 87.9% |
| Horwich And Blackrod | 184 | 16 | 200 | 92.0% |
| Crompton | 139 | 32 | 171 | 81.3% |
| Rumworth | 135 | 30 | 165 | 81.8% |
| Queens Park & Central | 117 | 39 | 156 | 75.0% |
| Tonge With The Haulgh | 115 | 29 | 144 | 79.9% |
| Westhoughton North | 123 | 16 | 139 | 88.5% |
| Westhoughton South | 111 | 24 | 135 | 82.2% |
| Kearsley | 116 | 16 | 132 | 87.9% |
| Little Lever And Darcy Lever | 111 | 20 | 131 | 84.7% |
| Horwich North East | 114 | 14 | 128 | 89.1% |
| Breightmet | 116 | 9 | 125 | 92.8% |
| Horwich North | 86 | 25 | 111 | 77.5% |
| Westhoughton North & Hunger Hill | 86 | 15 | 101 | 85.1% |
| Horwich South & Blackrod | 80 | 14 | 94 | 85.1% |
| Harper Green | 64 | 12 | 76 | 84.2% |
| Farnworth North | 58 | 17 | 75 | 77.3% |
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 8.5pp 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 00978/26 Tonge With The Haulgh | EXTERNAL ALTERATIONS TO EXISTING INDUSTRIAL BUILDING INCLUDING REPLACEMENT FENES | Approved |
| 00649/26 Farnworth North | ERECTION OF PART SINGLE/PART TWO STOREY EXTENSION TO REAR AND SIDE | Approved |
| 01618/26 Farnworth North | EXTENSION OF COMMERCIAL PREMISES AND INSTALLATION OF 3 NO. ROLLER SHUTTER DOORS | Refused |
| 00964/26 Little Lever And Darcy Lever | CHANGE OF USE FROM HOT FOOD TAKE AWAY AND CAFE TO GROUND FLOOR OFFICES WITH DEMO | Refused |
| 01409/26 Rumworth | CHANGE OF USE FROM DWELLING HOUSE (CLASS C3) TO COMMERCIAL USE (CLASS E(a)) ON G | Refused |
| 01410/26 Rumworth | ERECTION OF SINGLE STOREY OUTBUILDING | Refused |
| 00874/26 Bromley Cross | ERECTION OF DETACHED GARAGE. | Approved |
| 01352/26 Great Lever | DEMOLITION OF PORCH AND REAR OUTBUILDING WITH ERECTION OF SINGLE STOREY REAR AND | Approved |
| 01081/26 Heaton, Lostock & Chew Moor | ERECTION OF A SINGLE STOREY EXTENSION TO FORM GOLF SIMULATOR AND SEPARATE LEAN-T | Approved |
| 00859/26 Kearsley | ERECTION OF SINGLE STOREY FRONT AND SIDE EXTENSION TOGETHER WITH DEMOLITION OF E | 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 2,199 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 2,199 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 2,199 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Bolton is 80.4%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 85.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 2,199 planning decisions from Bolton council. 1,768 were approved and 431 were refused. These figures cover every decision on record for the council, March 2006 to September 2026.
The average approval rate in Bolton is 80.4%, 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.