Bury planning approval rate
Bury council approved 90.6% of planning applications and refused 9.4%, based on 5,876 decisions analysed. Ranked 131st out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
90.6%
overall approval rate
5,876
Decisions analysed
5,325
Approved
551
Refused
18
Wards covered
Planning in Bury? 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 Bury. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
93.3%
86.9%
76.5%
97.9%
83.9%
82.8%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Bury, mined from 5,876 proposal descriptions.
92.7%
91.1%
95.3%
93.8%
89.5%
91.2%
96.2%
96.7%
82.7%
95.5%
94.9%
96.8%
83.8%
75.0%
88.2%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Bury. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Prestwich - Sedgley
85.1%
North Manor
90.2%
Ramsbottom
89.9%
Bury East
85.7%
Whitefield + Unsworth - Pilkington Park
94.4%
Prestwich - Holyrood
91.2%
Bury East - Redvales
87.9%
Prestwich - St Mary's
92.0%
Whitefield + Unsworth - Unsworth
93.5%
Tottington
94.9%
Bury West - Elton
94.2%
Radcliffe - North and Ainsworth
90.9%
Radcliffe - East
89.7%
Bury West - Church (Historic)
94.4%
Bury East - Moorside
91.8%
Whitefield + Unsworth - Besses
90.5%
Radcliffe - West
88.9%
Bury West
91.9%
Wards in Bury
Prestwich - Sedgley
85.1% approval · 584 decisions
North Manor
90.2% approval · 522 decisions
Ramsbottom
89.9% approval · 483 decisions
Bury East
85.7% approval · 440 decisions
Whitefield + Unsworth - Pilkington Park
94.4% approval · 392 decisions
Prestwich - Holyrood
91.2% approval · 342 decisions
Bury East - Redvales
87.9% approval · 331 decisions
Prestwich - St Mary's
92.0% approval · 327 decisions
Whitefield + Unsworth - Unsworth
93.5% approval · 310 decisions
Tottington
94.9% approval · 275 decisions
Bury West - Elton
94.2% approval · 259 decisions
Radcliffe - North and Ainsworth
90.9% approval · 254 decisions
Radcliffe - East
89.7% approval · 252 decisions
Bury West - Church (Historic)
94.4% approval · 251 decisions
Bury East - Moorside
91.8% approval · 219 decisions
Whitefield + Unsworth - Besses
90.5% approval · 200 decisions
Radcliffe - West
88.9% approval · 171 decisions
Bury West
91.9% approval · 62 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Bury, showing how the council decides real applications.
Prior approval for proposed change of use from Use Class E (Offices) to Use Clas · Whitefield + Unsworth - Pilkington Park · Mon 22 Jun 2026
Two storey and 2No. single storey extensions at rear · Whitefield + Unsworth - Pilkington Park · Fri 19 Jun 2026
Demolition of existing porch and erection of new front porch with first floor ba · Bury East - Redvales · Fri 19 Jun 2026
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Bury, 1 in 11 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 Bury
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Bury →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Bury
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 5,876 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Bury
What is the planning approval rate in Bury?
Based on 5,876 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Bury approved 90.6% of applications and refused 9.4%. The council is ranked 131st out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Bury?
Bury refuses 9.4% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 11. That is lower than the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 5,876 decided applications since 2020, 551 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Bury have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Bury are in Tottington (94.9%), Bury West - Church (Historic) (94.4%), and Whitefield + Unsworth - Pilkington Park (94.4%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Bury?
The most common planning application types in Bury are: Full (3,424 decisions, 93.3% approved), Other (1,478, 86.9%), and Certificate of Lawfulness (590, 88.0%).
How long does a planning application take in Bury?
Planning applications in Bury take an average of 12.0 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 980 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. Bury decides approximately 979 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Bury?
You can search planning applications in Bury directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 5,876 historical decisions in Bury to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Bury calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Bury'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.