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Rear Extension Approval Rates in Luton

Rear extensions are the bread and butter of UK planning — and one of the most common reasons homeowners face a refusal. Here's what 1,839 real decisions tell us about rear extension outcomes in Luton.

1,839 real decisions·January 2020 to present·Updated March 2026
92.0%
Approval Rate
1,839
Decisions
1,691
Approved
148
Refused
92.0% approved. But 148 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 Luton: CHALLNEY approves 87.5% of rear extension applications while STOPSLEY sits at 60.0%. That 27.5% gap means your postcode is one of the strongest indicators of outcome.

Rear Extension approval rate by ward

#WardDecisionsApprovedRate
1CHALLNEY87
87.5%
2SAINTS87
87.5%
3ROUND GREEN54
80.0%
4LEWSEY86
75.0%
5STOPSLEY53
60.0%
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These are council averages. Your property is specific.

A rear extension has a 87.5% approval rate in CHALLNEY but just 60.0% in STOPSLEY.
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 Luton.

TypeDecisionsRate
Garage / Parking450
93.8%
Rear Extension1,839
92.0%
Conservatory29
89.7%
Extension (General)65
89.2%
New Build313
85.0%
Front Extension109
84.4%
Wraparound Extension66
80.3%
Loft Conversion88
79.5%
Side Extension274
78.5%
Dormer139
78.4%
Hip-to-Gable Conversion32
78.1%
Change of Use (Residential)204
77.5%
HMO31
77.4%
Outbuilding79
75.9%
Annex23
69.6%
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What the data tells us

1
92.0% of rear extension applications in Luton get approved. That means 148 homeowners since 2020 have been refused. Not terrible odds, but not a foregone conclusion.
2
Your ward matters more than you think. The 27.5% gap between CHALLNEY (87.5%) and STOPSLEY (60.0%) 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

148 rear extension applications in Luton 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 Luton planning data

Methodology: Based on 1,839 planning decisions classified as rear extensions in Luton, 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 Luton Council's public planning portal. Full methodology →
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