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Loft Conversion Approval Rates in Ealing

Loft conversions change your roofline — and that makes them one of the more closely scrutinised application types. Councils scrutinise visibility, overlooking and street character more closely than for ground-level work. Here's what the data shows in Ealing.

12,650 real decisions·January 2020 to present·Updated March 2026
86.3%
Approval Rate
12,650
Decisions
10,916
Approved
1,734
Refused
86.3% approved. But 1,734 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 loft conversion approval rates matter

Loft conversions face more scrutiny than rear or side extensions because they change the property's profile from the street. Dormers, mansards and hip-to-gable alterations are particularly sensitive.

Ward gap in Ealing: Dormers Wells approves 100.0% of loft conversion applications while Southfield sits at 80.0%. That 20.0% gap means your postcode is one of the strongest indicators of outcome.

Loft Conversion approval rate by ward

#WardDecisionsApprovedRate
1Dormers Wells55
100.0%
2Southfield54
80.0%
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These are council averages. Your property is specific.

A loft conversion has a 100.0% approval rate in Dormers Wells but just 80.0% in Southfield.
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How loft conversions compare to other project types

Not all applications are treated equally. Here's how loft conversions stack up against other common projects in Ealing.

TypeDecisionsRate
New Build1,032
95.4%
Basement3,359
89.6%
Extension (General)2,532
89.2%
Garage / Parking12,842
88.4%
Conservatory1,707
87.2%
Loft Conversion12,650
86.3%
Hip-to-Gable Conversion4,239
85.9%
Wraparound Extension1,676
84.0%
Rear Extension22,565
83.1%
Dormer2,117
83.0%
Side Extension7,960
83.0%
Outbuilding4,281
81.7%
Change of Use (Residential)3,506
81.3%
Flat Conversion3,775
80.9%
Annex255
79.6%
Front Extension1,823
77.2%
HMO520
69.6%
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What the data tells us

1
86.3% of loft conversion applications in Ealing get approved. That means 1,734 homeowners since 2020 have been refused. Not terrible odds, but not a foregone conclusion.
2
Your ward matters more than you think. The 20.0% gap between Dormers Wells (100.0%) and Southfield (80.0%) 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

1,734 loft conversion applications in Ealing 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 Ealing planning data

Nearby councils loft conversion data

Methodology: Based on 12,650 planning decisions classified as loft conversions in Ealing, 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 Ealing Council's public planning portal. Full methodology →
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