Wigan planning approval rate
Wigan council approved 88.5% of planning applications and refused 11.5%, based on 5,618 decisions analysed. Ranked 95th out of 300 councils for strictness.
Last updated: August 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to August 2026
88.5%
overall approval rate
5,618
Decisions analysed
4,972
Approved
646
Refused
29
Wards covered
Planning in Wigan? Check your postcode to see approval rates specific to your ward and street.
Approval rate by application type
Different application types have different approval rates in Wigan. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
90.2%
87.1%
85.9%
84.4%
95.7%
83.8%
91.1%
76.9%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Wigan, mined from 5,618 proposal descriptions.
89.1%
90.6%
89.5%
88.5%
84.8%
93.4%
84.2%
88.0%
49.1%
92.4%
82.4%
74.5%
88.9%
73.0%
88.5%
90.0%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Wigan. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Wigan Central
86.6%
Standish With Langtree
89.2%
Lowton East
90.6%
Leigh South
90.3%
Orrell
89.1%
Winstanley
89.0%
Golborne And Lowton West
92.7%
Tyldesley
90.3%
Leigh West
89.9%
Hindley
91.2%
Shevington With Lower Ground
95.5%
Wigan West
79.9%
Worsley Mesnes
87.2%
Leigh East
88.7%
Bryn
91.1%
Astley
89.6%
Aspull New Springs Whelley
78.1%
Ashton In Makerfield South
92.6%
Leigh Central And Higher Folds
84.6%
Shevington With Lower Ground And Moor
81.1%
Wards in Wigan
Wigan Central
86.6% approval · 374 decisions
Standish With Langtree
89.2% approval · 343 decisions
Lowton East
90.6% approval · 307 decisions
Leigh South
90.3% approval · 288 decisions
Orrell
89.1% approval · 258 decisions
Winstanley
89.0% approval · 219 decisions
Golborne And Lowton West
92.7% approval · 193 decisions
Tyldesley
90.3% approval · 186 decisions
Leigh West
89.9% approval · 179 decisions
Hindley
91.2% approval · 160 decisions
Shevington With Lower Ground
95.5% approval · 155 decisions
Wigan West
79.9% approval · 149 decisions
Worsley Mesnes
87.2% approval · 133 decisions
Leigh East
88.7% approval · 133 decisions
Bryn
91.1% approval · 124 decisions
Astley
89.6% approval · 106 decisions
Aspull New Springs Whelley
78.1% approval · 105 decisions
Ashton In Makerfield South
92.6% approval · 94 decisions
Leigh Central And Higher Folds
84.6% approval · 91 decisions
Shevington With Lower Ground And Moor
81.1% approval · 90 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Wigan, showing how the council decides real applications.
First floor extension to side and rear · Hindley Green · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Single storey extension to side and rear linking to garage together with externa · Standish With Langtree · Fri 14 Aug 2026
Single storey rear extension, raise in roof height and hip to gable conversion t · Hindley · Thu 13 Aug 2026
Showing 3 recent comparable decisions. See more in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Wigan, 1 in 9 applications are refused. Your PlanningLens Full Planning Analysis gives you 17 pages of intelligence specific to your property:
✓ Ward-level approval rates for your exact area
✓ Common refusal reasons in Wigan
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Wigan →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Wigan
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 5,618 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Wigan
What is the planning approval rate in Wigan?
Based on 5,618 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Wigan approved 88.5% of applications and refused 11.5%. The council is ranked 95th out of 300 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Wigan?
Wigan refuses 11.5% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 9. That is close to the UK average of 11.4%. Out of 5,618 decided applications since 2020, 646 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Wigan have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Wigan are in Shevington With Lower Ground (95.5%), Golborne And Lowton West (92.7%), and Ashton In Makerfield South (92.6%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Wigan?
The most common planning application types in Wigan are: Full (3,348 decisions, 90.2% approved), Other (1,062, 87.1%), and Certificate of Lawfulness (469, 80.6%).
How long does a planning application take in Wigan?
Planning applications in Wigan take an average of 13.0 weeks to reach a decision, measured across 5,486 decisions with a recorded timeline. That is slower than the 8-week statutory target for householder applications (the statutory targets are 8 weeks for householder applications and 13 weeks for major developments). PlanningLens measures the actual time each application takes, not just the target. Wigan decides approximately 936 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Wigan?
You can search planning applications in Wigan directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 5,618 historical decisions in Wigan to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Wigan calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Wigan's official planning portal and analyses every published decision since January 2020. The approval rate is calculated as approved decisions divided by total decided applications, excluding withdrawn and pending applications. The full methodology, data sourcing, and Creative Commons BY 4.0 licensing terms are published at planninglens.co.uk/methodology.