Sefton Council approves 87.5% of planning applications, based on 6,453 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Sefton 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 Sefton.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 3,502 | 315 | 3,817 | 91.7% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 801 | 174 | 975 | 82.2% |
| Other | 479 | 90 | 569 | 84.2% |
| Trees | 331 | 10 | 341 | 97.1% |
| Prior Approval | 228 | 102 | 330 | 69.1% |
| Advertisement | 171 | 28 | 199 | 85.9% |
| Listed Building | 131 | 8 | 139 | 94.2% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 1 | 82 | 83 | 1.2% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dukes | 659 | 98 | 757 | 87.1% |
| Harington | 573 | 71 | 644 | 89.0% |
| Blundellsands | 409 | 47 | 456 | 89.7% |
| Manor | 364 | 58 | 422 | 86.3% |
| Park | 329 | 48 | 377 | 87.3% |
| Ravenmeols | 336 | 29 | 365 | 92.1% |
| Meols | 293 | 31 | 324 | 90.4% |
| Church | 253 | 57 | 310 | 81.6% |
| Birkdale | 273 | 37 | 310 | 88.1% |
| Molyneux | 248 | 47 | 295 | 84.1% |
| Ainsdale | 260 | 23 | 283 | 91.9% |
| Sudell | 229 | 35 | 264 | 86.7% |
| Victoria | 203 | 28 | 231 | 87.9% |
| Cambridge | 179 | 19 | 198 | 90.4% |
| Norwood | 165 | 32 | 197 | 83.8% |
| Kew | 171 | 21 | 192 | 89.1% |
| Netherton And Orrell | 140 | 25 | 165 | 84.8% |
| Linacre | 136 | 29 | 165 | 82.4% |
| Derby | 122 | 37 | 159 | 76.7% |
| Litherland | 112 | 11 | 123 | 91.1% |
| Ford | 103 | 19 | 122 | 84.4% |
| St Oswald | 63 | 7 | 70 | 90.0% |
How Sefton’s planning approval rate has changed year by year — up 0.2pp since 2022.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Sefton council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| DC/2026/00097 Derby | Prior approval submission for a proposed rear extension projecting 4.0 metres fr | Approved |
| DC/2026/00065 Harington | Proposed Single Storey Extension to Front and Side of Dwelling | Approved |
| DC/2025/02057 Ainsdale | Single storey extension to side and porch extension to front | Approved |
| DC/2026/00016 Meols | Retrospective application for the erection of a single storey extension to the f | Refused |
| DC/2026/00004 Victoria | Erection of single storey extensions to the side and rear of the dwellinghouse | Approved |
| DC/2026/00025 Molyneux | Proposed single storey side and rear extension. | Approved |
| DC/2025/02069 Harington | Pitching of the flat roof above a first floor bedroom and small flat roof at gro | Approved |
| DC/2026/00032 Church | Single storey rear extension and enlargement of existing dormer to create roof t | Approved |
| DC/2026/00023 Harington | Erection of a first floor extension to the rear of the dwellinghouse and additio | Approved |
| DC/2026/00019 Cambridge | Three external air source heat pump units mounted on the flat roof of the single | 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 Sefton's 6,453 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Sefton's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Sefton'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 Sefton. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 6,453 real decisions from Sefton 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 Sefton'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 6,453 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Sefton is 87.5%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 6,453 planning decisions from Sefton council. 5,644 were approved and 809 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Sefton is 87.5%, 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.