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Rear Extension Approval Rates in Lancaster

Rear extensions are the bread and butter of UK planning — and one of the most common reasons homeowners face a refusal. Here's what 490 real decisions tell us about rear extension outcomes in Lancaster.

490 real decisions·January 2020 to September 2026·Updated September 2026
91.6%
Approval Rate
490
Decisions
449
Approved
41
Refused
91.6% approved. But 41 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.

These are council averages. Your property is specific.

Two houses on the same street can get different outcomes.
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 Lancaster.

TypeDecisionsRate
Wraparound Extension43
97.7%
Conservatory186
96.2%
Extension (General)513
92.2%
Rear Extension490
91.6%
Garage / Parking369
91.3%
Front Extension22
90.9%
Side Extension227
89.9%
Hip-to-Gable Conversion76
89.5%
Outbuilding131
89.3%
New Build155
89.0%
Dormer275
88.7%
Loft Conversion49
85.7%
Change of Use (Residential)175
77.1%
Flat Conversion20
55.0%
See how this applies to your postcode →

What the data tells us

1
91.6% of rear extension applications in Lancaster get approved. That means 41 homeowners since 2020 have been refused. Not terrible odds, but not a foregone conclusion.
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

41 rear extension applications in Lancaster 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 3,840,000+ real decisions

More Lancaster planning data

Methodology: Based on 490 planning decisions classified as rear extensions in Lancaster, January 2020 to September 2026. 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 Lancaster Council's public planning portal. Full methodology →
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