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Rear Extension Approval Rates in South Lanarkshire

Rear extensions are the bread and butter of UK planning — and one of the most common reasons homeowners face a refusal. Here's what 4,892 real decisions tell us about rear extension outcomes in South Lanarkshire.

4,892 real decisions·January 2020 to present·Updated March 2026
99.4%
Approval Rate
4,892
Decisions
4,864
Approved
28
Refused
99.4% approved. But 28 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 South Lanarkshire: 17 Hamilton North And East approves 100.0% of rear extension applications while 11 Rutherglen South sits at 80.0%. That 20.0% gap means your postcode is one of the strongest indicators of outcome.

Rear Extension approval rate by ward

#WardDecisionsApprovedRate
117 Hamilton North And East66
100.0%
216 Bothwell And Uddingston88
100.0%
311 Rutherglen South54
80.0%
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These are council averages. Your property is specific.

A rear extension has a 100.0% approval rate in 17 Hamilton North And East but just 80.0% in 11 Rutherglen South.
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 South Lanarkshire.

TypeDecisionsRate
Conservatory806
99.6%
Rear Extension4,892
99.4%
Side Extension2,300
99.1%
Wraparound Extension323
99.1%
Dormer1,255
98.8%
Extension (General)2,243
98.4%
Basement60
98.3%
Front Extension417
98.1%
Garage / Parking4,720
97.3%
Outbuilding1,121
96.9%
Annex90
96.7%
New Build4,060
93.8%
Change of Use (Residential)1,805
93.6%
Loft Conversion51
90.2%
Flat Conversion94
84.0%
See how this applies to your postcode →

What the data tells us

1
99.4% of rear extension applications in South Lanarkshire get approved. That means 28 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 17 Hamilton North And East (100.0%) and 11 Rutherglen South (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

28 rear extension applications in South Lanarkshire 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 South Lanarkshire planning data

Methodology: Based on 4,892 planning decisions classified as rear extensions in South Lanarkshire, 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 South Lanarkshire Council's public planning portal. Full methodology →
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