Bolton planning approval rate
Bolton council approved 85.5% of planning applications and refused 14.5%, based on 4,833 decisions analysed. Ranked 52nd out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
85.5%
overall approval rate
4,833
Decisions analysed
4,131
Approved
702
Refused
27
Wards covered
Planning in Bolton? Check your postcode to see approval rates specific to your ward and street.
Approval rate by application type
Different application types have different approval rates in Bolton. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
85.3%
91.5%
84.0%
75.2%
94.1%
88.9%
71.7%
82.3%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Bolton, mined from 4,833 proposal descriptions.
81.7%
83.8%
85.3%
81.1%
82.5%
92.0%
79.4%
41.2%
75.8%
75.0%
85.7%
73.3%
79.2%
61.5%
63.6%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Bolton. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Heaton And Lostock
90.1%
Bromley Cross
89.3%
Great Lever
83.6%
Astley Bridge
83.0%
Smithills
83.7%
Hulton
84.1%
Halliwell
86.7%
Bradshaw
88.2%
Heaton, Lostock & Chew Moor
87.7%
Horwich And Blackrod
92.0%
Crompton
81.3%
Rumworth
82.9%
Queens Park & Central
75.0%
Tonge With The Haulgh
79.9%
Westhoughton North
88.5%
Westhoughton South
82.4%
Kearsley
87.7%
Horwich North East
89.1%
Little Lever And Darcy Lever
84.7%
Breightmet
92.7%
Wards in Bolton
Heaton And Lostock
90.1% approval · 464 decisions
Bromley Cross
89.3% approval · 413 decisions
Great Lever
83.6% approval · 317 decisions
Astley Bridge
83.0% approval · 305 decisions
Smithills
83.7% approval · 270 decisions
Hulton
84.1% approval · 246 decisions
Halliwell
86.7% approval · 240 decisions
Bradshaw
88.2% approval · 220 decisions
Heaton, Lostock & Chew Moor
87.7% approval · 211 decisions
Horwich And Blackrod
92.0% approval · 200 decisions
Crompton
81.3% approval · 171 decisions
Rumworth
82.9% approval · 158 decisions
Queens Park & Central
75.0% approval · 144 decisions
Tonge With The Haulgh
79.9% approval · 139 decisions
Westhoughton North
88.5% approval · 139 decisions
Westhoughton South
82.4% approval · 131 decisions
Kearsley
87.7% approval · 130 decisions
Horwich North East
89.1% approval · 128 decisions
Little Lever And Darcy Lever
84.7% approval · 124 decisions
Breightmet
92.7% approval · 123 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Bolton, showing how the council decides real applications.
ERECTION OF SINGLE STOREY REAR EXTENSION · Tonge With The Haulgh · Fri 14 Aug 2026
ERECTION OF FRONT PORCH AND PART SINGLE/PART TWO STOREY REAR EXTENSION TOGETHER · Halliwell · Fri 14 Aug 2026
RETROSPECTIVE APPLICATION FOR ERECTION OF SINGLE STOREY FRONT AND REAR EXTENSION · Smithills · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Bolton, 1 in 7 applications are refused. Your PlanningLens Full Planning Analysis gives you 17 pages of intelligence specific to your property:
✓ Ward-level approval rates for your exact area
✓ Common refusal reasons in Bolton
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Bolton →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Bolton
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 4,833 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Bolton
What is the planning approval rate in Bolton?
Based on 4,833 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Bolton approved 85.5% of applications and refused 14.5%. The council is ranked 52nd out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Bolton?
Bolton refuses 14.5% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 7. That is higher than the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 4,833 decided applications since 2020, 702 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Bolton have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Bolton are in Breightmet (92.7%), Horwich And Blackrod (92.0%), and Heaton And Lostock (90.1%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Bolton?
The most common planning application types in Bolton are: Full (1,698 decisions, 85.3% approved), Trees (1,069, 91.5%), and Change of Use (607, 84.0%).
How long does a planning application take in Bolton?
Planning applications in Bolton take an average of 11.3 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 1,077 decisions with a recorded timeline. That is slower than the 8-week statutory target for householder applications (the statutory targets are 8 weeks for householder applications and 13 weeks for major developments). PlanningLens measures the actual time each application takes, not just the target. Bolton decides approximately 806 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Bolton?
You can search planning applications in Bolton directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 4,833 historical decisions in Bolton to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Bolton calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Bolton's official planning portal and analyses every published decision since January 2020. The approval rate is calculated as approved decisions divided by total decided applications, excluding withdrawn and pending applications. The full methodology, data sourcing, and Creative Commons BY 4.0 licensing terms are published at planninglens.co.uk/methodology.