Which ward in Bury has the highest planning approval rate?

Tottington at 94.9% based on 275 decisions.

Which ward in Bury has the lowest planning approval rate?

Prestwich - Sedgley at 85.1% based on 584 decisions.

How much do planning approval rates vary across Bury?

There is a 9.8% gap between Tottington and Prestwich - Sedgley. Your postcode significantly affects outcomes.

Planning Approval Rates by Ward in Bury

Planning outcomes in Bury are highly localised. The gap between the most and least permissive wards is 9.8% — that's not noise, it's a fundamentally different planning environment depending on where you live.

5,876 real decisions·18 wards·Updated June 2026

90.6% approved overall. But 551 applications refused since 2020. Where you live in Bury shifts your odds by up to 9.8%. The council average doesn't tell you which side of that gap you're on.

Check Planning Approval Patterns in Bury

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All 18 wards ranked

#	Ward	Decisions	Approved	Refused	Rate
1	Tottington	275	261	14	94.9%
2	Bury West - Church (Historic)	251	237	14	94.4%
3	Whitefield + Unsworth - Pilkington Park	392	370	22	94.4%
4	Bury West - Elton	259	244	15	94.2%
5	Whitefield + Unsworth - Unsworth	310	290	20	93.5%
6	Prestwich - St Mary's	327	301	26	92.0%
7	Bury West	62	57	5	91.9%
8	Bury East - Moorside	219	201	18	91.8%
9	Prestwich - Holyrood	342	312	30	91.2%
10	Radcliffe - North and Ainsworth	254	231	23	90.9%
11	Whitefield + Unsworth - Besses	200	181	19	90.5%
12	North Manor	522	471	51	90.2%
13	Ramsbottom	483	434	49	89.9%
14	Radcliffe - East	252	226	26	89.7%
15	Radcliffe - West	171	152	19	88.9%
16	Bury East - Redvales	331	291	40	87.9%
17	Bury East	440	377	63	85.7%
18	Prestwich - Sedgley	584	497	87	85.1%

See how this applies to your postcode →

These are council averages. Your property is specific.

An extension might sail through in Tottington but face serious resistance in Prestwich - Sedgley.
Check your postcode to see what actually happens near your address.

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What the data tells us

A 9.8% gap separates the best and worst wards. Tottington approves 94.9% of applications while Prestwich - Sedgley approves just 85.1%. That's a fundamentally different planning environment.

High volume doesn't mean high approval. Some of the busiest wards aren't the most permissive. The number of applications a ward processes tells you nothing about how likely yours is to succeed.

Ward averages are a starting point, not a guarantee. Your specific outcome depends on your property, your neighbours, your proposal type and the comparable decisions near your address.

Before you spend £5,000+ on architects and drawings

551 planning applications in Bury have been refused since 2020. Many of those homeowners had already paid for drawings and application fees. A free, property-specific report shows you what gets approved — and what gets refused — near your property.

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Free · Property report emailed in minutes · Based on 3,290,000+ real decisions

More Bury planning data

Methodology: Covers 5,876 planning decisions in Bury, January 2020 to present. Approval rate = approved / (approved + refused). Pending, withdrawn and invalid excluded. Ward boundaries reflect current electoral divisions. Data from Bury Council's public planning portal. Full methodology →