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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 1,075 real decisions tell us about rear extension outcomes in Swindon.

1,075 real decisions·January 2020 to present·Updated March 2026
93.0%
Approval Rate
1,075
Decisions
1,000
Approved
75
Refused
93.0% approved. But 75 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 Swindon: Old Town approves 100.0% of rear extension applications while Eastcott sits at 85.7%. That 14.3% gap means your postcode is one of the strongest indicators of outcome.

Rear Extension approval rate by ward

#WardDecisionsApprovedRate
1Old Town77
100.0%
2Wroughton And Wichelstowe66
100.0%
3Chiseldon And Lawn88
100.0%
4Penhill And Upper Stratton55
100.0%
5Rodbourne Cheney1413
92.9%
6Gorse Hill & Pinehurst98
88.9%
7Covingham And Dorcan87
87.5%
8Eastcott76
85.7%
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These are council averages. Your property is specific.

A rear extension has a 100.0% approval rate in Old Town but just 85.7% in Eastcott.
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 Extension52
96.2%
Conservatory221
95.9%
Outbuilding60
93.3%
Rear Extension1,075
93.0%
Extension (General)96
92.7%
Side Extension436
92.4%
Garage / Parking347
91.4%
Front Extension105
88.6%
New Build217
88.5%
Dormer143
87.4%
Change of Use (Residential)83
83.1%
See how this applies to your postcode →

What the data tells us

1
93.0% of rear extension applications in Swindon get approved. That means 75 homeowners since 2020 have been refused. Not terrible odds, but not a foregone conclusion.
2
Your ward matters more than you think. The 14.3% gap between Old Town (100.0%) and Eastcott (85.7%) 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

75 rear extension applications in Swindon 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 Swindon planning data

Methodology: Based on 1,075 planning decisions classified as rear extensions in Swindon, 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 Swindon Council's public planning portal. Full methodology →
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