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Rear Extension Approval Rates in Swindon

Rear extensions are the bread and butter of UK planning — and one of the most common reasons homeowners face a refusal. Here's what 1,249 real decisions tell us about rear extension outcomes in Swindon.

1,249 real decisions·January 2020 to August 2026·Updated August 2026
93.8%
Approval Rate
1,249
Decisions
1,172
Approved
77
Refused
93.8% approved. But 77 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 Swindon.

TypeDecisionsRate
Wraparound Extension68
97.1%
Conservatory235
96.2%
Outbuilding87
95.4%
Extension (General)132
93.9%
Rear Extension1,249
93.8%
Side Extension517
93.6%
Garage / Parking436
93.1%
Loft Conversion43
93.0%
Annex24
91.7%
Change of Use (Residential)151
90.7%
Dormer187
90.4%
New Build261
90.4%
Front Extension124
90.3%
See how this applies to your postcode →

What the data tells us

1
93.8% of rear extension applications in Swindon get approved. That means 77 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

77 rear extension applications in Swindon 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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More Swindon planning data

Methodology: Based on 1,249 planning decisions classified as rear extensions in Swindon, January 2020 to August 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 Swindon Council's public planning portal. Full methodology →
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