Manchester Council approves 87.9% of planning applications, based on 13,750 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Manchester is closely in line with the national average.
Enter your postcode for a free, personalised approval pattern report — based on your ward and application type.
Not all applications are treated equally. Extension types, listed building consent, and change of use applications each have very different success rates in Manchester.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 4,978 | 570 | 5,548 | 89.7% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 3,734 | 664 | 4,398 | 84.9% |
| Trees | 751 | 23 | 774 | 97.0% |
| Advertisement | 551 | 139 | 690 | 79.9% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 528 | 126 | 654 | 80.7% |
| Change of Use | 581 | 51 | 632 | 91.9% |
| Listed Building | 547 | 14 | 561 | 97.5% |
| Other | 341 | 57 | 398 | 85.7% |
| Prior Approval | 74 | 21 | 95 | 77.9% |
A loft conversion in one ward can have a 90% approval rate. In the next ward, 55%. The free check tells you which side you're on — your free property report is emailed in minutes.
Check My PostcodeWard-level data reveals where planning applications are most and least likely to succeed. Officers, local policies, and neighbourhood character all play a role.
| Ward | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deansgate | 1,869 | 134 | 2,003 | 93.3% |
| Piccadilly | 1,257 | 110 | 1,367 | 92.0% |
| Didsbury West | 676 | 67 | 743 | 91.0% |
| Didsbury East | 561 | 52 | 613 | 91.5% |
| Chorlton | 553 | 51 | 604 | 91.6% |
| Chorlton Park | 459 | 80 | 539 | 85.2% |
| Ancoats & Beswick | 467 | 41 | 508 | 91.9% |
| Hulme | 465 | 35 | 500 | 93.0% |
| Whalley Range | 413 | 68 | 481 | 85.9% |
| Cheetham | 372 | 81 | 453 | 82.1% |
| Crumpsall | 327 | 58 | 385 | 84.9% |
| Ardwick | 331 | 52 | 383 | 86.4% |
| Withington | 305 | 63 | 368 | 82.9% |
| Miles Platting & Newton Heath | 281 | 81 | 362 | 77.6% |
| Rusholme | 284 | 70 | 354 | 80.2% |
| Northenden | 271 | 54 | 325 | 83.4% |
| Woodhouse Park | 294 | 27 | 321 | 91.6% |
| Clayton & Openshaw | 269 | 37 | 306 | 87.9% |
| Burnage | 247 | 54 | 301 | 82.1% |
| Levenshulme | 227 | 37 | 264 | 86.0% |
| Gorton & Abbey Hey | 223 | 38 | 261 | 85.4% |
| Brooklands | 226 | 20 | 246 | 91.9% |
| Longsight | 211 | 29 | 240 | 87.9% |
| Old Moat | 187 | 49 | 236 | 79.2% |
| Moston | 185 | 43 | 228 | 81.1% |
Showing top 25 of 32 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Manchester’s planning approval rate has changed year by year — down 7.0pp since 2019.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Manchester council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| 144936/FO/2026 Deansgate | Replacement of roof light. | Approved |
| 144937/LO/2026 Deansgate | Listed Building Consent for the replacement of roof light. | Approved |
| 144854/FH/2026 Didsbury East | Erection of single-storey rear and side extension | Approved |
| 144780/FO/2025 Deansgate | External alterations including installation of entrance door, louvre screen and | Approved |
| 144776/FH/2025 Chorlton Park | Elevational alterations to create a new enlarged window and doors to the rear an | Approved |
| 144613/FH/2025 Chorlton | Erection of single storey rear extensions and installation of rear dormer | Approved |
| 144606/FH/2025 Miles Platting & Newton Heath | Erection of garage following demolition of existing, creation of linked extensio | Approved |
| 143678/FO/2025 Deansgate | Erection of five storey building to form 9 no. residential apartments (Use Class | Approved |
| 144938/PIP/2026 Rusholme | Planning in Principle application for up to one new dwelling on the land at 74-7 | Approved |
| 144669/FO/2025 Woodhouse Park | Erection of residential apartments (Use Class C3) with retail uses at ground flo | Approved |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your free property report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on Manchester's 13,750 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Manchester's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Manchester's planning statistics — by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Yes. PlanningLens offers a free planning permission check for Manchester. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 13,750 real decisions from Manchester council. The full property-specific report is also free and emailed within minutes.
Enter your postcode on PlanningLens for a free instant check based on Manchester's real planning decisions. The free property report goes further: it analyses the 20 nearest comparable decisions to your property, ward-level refusal patterns, and approval rates by application type. Free and emailed within minutes.
Based on 13,750 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Manchester is 87.9%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 13,750 planning decisions from Manchester council. 12,085 were approved and 1,665 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Manchester is 87.9%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the free PlanningLens postcode check to get a personalised score.