Which ward in Bury has the highest planning approval rate?

Tottington at 94.9% based on 277 decisions.

Which ward in Bury has the lowest planning approval rate?

Prestwich - Sedgley at 85.1% based on 599 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.

6,057 real decisions·18 wards·Updated August 2026

90.6% approved overall. But 570 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.

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All 18 wards ranked

#	Ward	Decisions	Approved	Refused	Rate
1	Tottington	277	263	14	94.9%
2	Bury West - Church (Historic)	251	237	14	94.4%
3	Bury West - Elton	262	247	15	94.3%
4	Whitefield + Unsworth - Pilkington Park	405	382	23	94.3%
5	Whitefield + Unsworth - Unsworth	323	302	21	93.5%
6	Bury West	66	61	5	92.4%
7	Prestwich - St Mary's	336	309	27	92.0%
8	Radcliffe - North and Ainsworth	264	241	23	91.3%
9	Bury East - Moorside	228	208	20	91.2%
10	Prestwich - Holyrood	346	314	32	90.8%
11	Whitefield + Unsworth - Besses	204	185	19	90.7%
12	North Manor	531	480	51	90.4%
13	Ramsbottom	498	445	53	89.4%
14	Radcliffe - East	259	231	28	89.2%
15	Radcliffe - West	176	156	20	88.6%
16	Bury East - Redvales	341	300	41	88.0%
17	Bury East	454	389	65	85.7%
18	Prestwich - Sedgley	599	510	89	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

570 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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More Bury planning data

Methodology: Covers 6,057 planning decisions in Bury, January 2020 to August 2026. 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 →