Bolton Council approves 87.8% of planning applications, based on 3,753 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. Bolton is closely in line with the national average.
Enter your postcode for a personalised approval likelihood score — 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 | 936 | 100 | 1,036 | 90.3% |
| Trees | 851 | 81 | 932 | 91.3% |
| Change of Use | 484 | 89 | 573 | 84.5% |
| Other | 300 | 97 | 397 | 75.6% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 219 | 32 | 251 | 87.3% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 211 | 13 | 224 | 94.2% |
| Advertisement | 168 | 13 | 181 | 92.8% |
| Prior Approval | 97 | 29 | 126 | 77.0% |
| Listed Building | 29 | 4 | 33 | 87.9% |
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.
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 | 304 | 33 | 337 | 90.2% |
| Great Lever | 233 | 41 | 274 | 85.0% |
| Astley Bridge | 211 | 33 | 244 | 86.5% |
| Smithills | 182 | 28 | 210 | 86.7% |
| Halliwell | 175 | 29 | 204 | 85.8% |
| Horwich And Blackrod | 178 | 15 | 193 | 92.2% |
| Bradshaw | 156 | 21 | 177 | 88.1% |
| Hulton | 145 | 27 | 172 | 84.3% |
| Crompton | 138 | 32 | 170 | 81.2% |
| Westhoughton North | 121 | 15 | 136 | 89.0% |
| Horwich North East | 114 | 14 | 128 | 89.1% |
| Rumworth | 110 | 16 | 126 | 87.3% |
| Kearsley | 95 | 12 | 107 | 88.8% |
| Westhoughton South | 87 | 13 | 100 | 87.0% |
| Breightmet | 92 | 6 | 98 | 93.9% |
| Little Lever And Darcy Lever | 89 | 8 | 97 | 91.8% |
| Tonge With The Haulgh | 78 | 12 | 90 | 86.7% |
| Heaton, Lostock & Chew Moor | 75 | 11 | 86 | 87.2% |
| Harper Green | 64 | 12 | 76 | 84.2% |
| Farnworth | 57 | 6 | 63 | 90.5% |
| Queens Park & Central | 38 | 7 | 45 | 84.4% |
| Horwich North | 36 | 7 | 43 | 83.7% |
| Horwich South & Blackrod | 28 | 4 | 32 | 87.5% |
| Westhoughton North & Hunger Hill | 24 | 4 | 28 | 85.7% |
Showing top 25 of 27 wards by volume. Your Pro Report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →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 |
|---|---|---|
| 00167/26 Westhoughton South | DEMOLITION OF EXISTING CONSERVATORY AND ERECTION OF TWO STOREY EXTENSION AT REAR | Approved |
| 00207/26 Astley Bridge | ERECTION OF A TWO STOREY SIDE AND SINGLE STOREY REAR EXTENSION. | Approved |
| 21416/25 Bradshaw | ERECTION OF A TWO STOREY FRONT EXTENSION WITH RENDER TOGETHER WITH A BALCONY TO | Approved |
| 21400/25 Westhoughton South | RECONFIGURATION OF 5 BEDROOM HMO FOR 5 OCCUPANTS TO FORM 6 BEDROOM HMO FOR 6 OCC | Refused |
| 21384/25 Queens Park & Central | CHANGE OF USE FROM VACANT FIRST FLOOR AND SECOND FLOOR TO OFFICES (CLASS E) | Approved |
| 21314/25 Astley Bridge | ERECTION OF A TWO STOREY EXTENSION AT SIDE | Approved |
| 21118/25 Tonge With The Haulgh | CHANGE OF USE FROM DWELLING (C3) TO 6 NO. BEDROOM HMO (C4) FOR 6 OCCUPANTS TOGET | Refused |
| 21102/25 Tonge With The Haulgh | CHANGE OF USE FROM DWELLING (C3) TO 4 NO. BEDROOM HMO FOR UP TO 4 OCCUPANTS (C4) | Approved |
| 20993/25 Tonge With The Haulgh | CHANGE OF USE FROM DWELLING (CLASS C3) TO HMO (CLASS C4) FOR 6NO. OCCUPANTS | Refused |
| 21046/25 Tonge With The Haulgh | NON MATERIAL AMENDMENT TO APPLICATION 19503/24 TO HAVE A PITCHED ROOF OVER THE R | Approved |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your Pro Report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on Bolton's 3,753 real decisions. Delivered by email in minutes.
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Dig deeper into Bolton's planning statistics — by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Based on 3,753 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Bolton is 87.8%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. However, rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 3,753 planning decisions from Bolton council. 3,295 were approved and 458 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Bolton is 87.8%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the PlanningLens free postcode check to get a personalised score.