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Rear Extension Approval Rates in West Lancashire

Rear extensions are the bread and butter of UK planning — and one of the most common reasons homeowners face a refusal. Here's what 837 real decisions tell us about rear extension outcomes in West Lancashire.

837 real decisions·January 2020 to present·Updated May 2026
99.2%
Approval Rate
837
Decisions
830
Approved
7
Refused
99.2% approved. But 7 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.

Rear Extension approval rate by ward

#WardDecisionsApprovedRate
1Ormskirk East Ward55
100.0%
2Tarleton Village Ward66
100.0%
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These are council averages. Your property is specific.

Two houses on the same street can get different outcomes.
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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 West Lancashire.

TypeDecisionsRate
Wraparound Extension59
100.0%
Side Extension484
100.0%
HMO23
100.0%
Loft Conversion130
100.0%
Front Extension82
100.0%
Dormer295
99.7%
Conservatory224
99.6%
Rear Extension837
99.2%
Garage / Parking959
97.6%
Annex40
97.5%
Outbuilding279
97.1%
New Build210
97.1%
Extension (General)753
94.4%
Change of Use (Residential)290
92.8%
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What the data tells us

1
99.2% of rear extension applications in West Lancashire get approved. That means 7 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

7 rear extension applications in West Lancashire 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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Free · Property report emailed in minutes · Based on 2,650,000+ real decisions

More West Lancashire planning data

Methodology: Based on 837 planning decisions classified as rear extensions in West Lancashire, 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 West Lancashire Council's public planning portal. Full methodology →
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