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Rear Extension Approval Rates in Bury

Rear extensions are the bread and butter of UK planning — and one of the most common reasons homeowners face a refusal. Here's what 1,150 real decisions tell us about rear extension outcomes in Bury.

1,150 real decisions·January 2020 to present·Updated March 2026
90.6%
Approval Rate
1,150
Decisions
1,042
Approved
108
Refused
90.6% approved. But 108 refused since 2020. Each refusal cost the homeowner time and money on drawings and application fees. Understanding your local data before you apply is the difference between confidence and a costly gamble.

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Why rear extension approval rates matter

Rear extensions sit in the middle of the pack nationally. They're common enough that councils have clear precedent — but that cuts both ways. If your neighbours have been refused, that precedent works against you too.

Ward gap in Bury: Bury East - Redvales approves 100.0% of rear extension applications while Bury West sits at 87.5%. That 12.5% gap means your postcode is one of the strongest indicators of outcome.

Rear Extension approval rate by ward

#WardDecisionsApprovedRate
1Bury East - Redvales55
100.0%
2Prestwich - Sedgley88
100.0%
3Tottington88
100.0%
4Bury East66
100.0%
5North Manor1313
100.0%
6Prestwich - Holyrood55
100.0%
7Whitefield + Unsworth - Besses66
100.0%
8Bury West87
87.5%
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These are council averages. Your property is specific.

A rear extension has a 100.0% approval rate in Bury East - Redvales but just 87.5% in Bury West.
Check your postcode to see what actually happens near your address.

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How rear extensions compare to other project types

Not all applications are treated equally. Here's how rear extensions stack up against other common projects in Bury.

TypeDecisionsRate
Hip-to-Gable Conversion43
97.7%
Outbuilding82
96.3%
Front Extension130
96.2%
Conservatory222
95.9%
Side Extension498
95.6%
Wraparound Extension65
95.4%
Garage / Parking490
93.9%
Basement27
92.6%
Extension (General)1,479
92.4%
Loft Conversion187
90.9%
Rear Extension1,150
90.6%
Dormer409
89.5%
New Build105
88.6%
Change of Use (Residential)112
88.4%
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What the data tells us

1
90.6% of rear extension applications in Bury get approved. That means 108 homeowners since 2020 have been refused. Not terrible odds, but not a foregone conclusion.
2
Your ward matters more than you think. The 12.5% gap between Bury East - Redvales (100.0%) and Bury West (87.5%) means your postcode is one of the strongest indicators of outcome.
3
Council averages are starting points, not guarantees. The decisions that matter most are the comparable ones near your specific property — because planning officers look at precedent, character and the immediate context of your street.

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

108 rear extension applications in Bury have been refused since 2020. Many of those homeowners had already paid for drawings and application fees. A £79 report shows you what gets approved — and what gets refused — near your property.

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More Bury planning data

Methodology: Based on 1,150 planning decisions classified as rear extensions in Bury, January 2020 to present. Classification uses keyword matching against proposal descriptions (matching generate_site_data.py rules). A single application may appear in multiple categories. Approval rate = approved / (approved + refused). Pending, withdrawn and invalid applications excluded. Data from Bury Council's public planning portal. Full methodology →
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