Wigan Council approves 89.6% of planning applications, based on 4,758 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Wigan sits 1.6 percentage points above the national average.
Enter your postcode for a free, personalised approval pattern report — based on your ward and application type.
Not all applications are treated equally. Extension types, listed building consent, and change of use applications each have very different success rates in Wigan.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full | 2,621 | 245 | 2,866 | 91.5% |
| Other | 813 | 120 | 933 | 87.1% |
| Certificate of Lawfulness | 312 | 54 | 366 | 85.2% |
| Change of Use | 170 | 26 | 196 | 86.7% |
| Advertisement | 130 | 28 | 158 | 82.3% |
| Trees | 80 | 1 | 81 | 98.8% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 65 | 14 | 79 | 82.3% |
| Listed Building | 61 | 7 | 68 | 89.7% |
| Prior Approval | 9 | 2 | 11 | 81.8% |
A loft conversion in one ward can have a 90% approval rate. In the next ward, 55%. The free check tells you which side you're on — your free property report is emailed in minutes.
Check My PostcodeWard-level data reveals where planning applications are most and least likely to succeed. Officers, local policies, and neighbourhood character all play a role.
| Ward | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wigan Central | 273 | 41 | 314 | 86.9% |
| Standish With Langtree | 260 | 26 | 286 | 90.9% |
| Lowton East | 245 | 23 | 268 | 91.4% |
| Leigh South | 228 | 24 | 252 | 90.5% |
| Orrell | 198 | 22 | 220 | 90.0% |
| Tyldesley | 168 | 18 | 186 | 90.3% |
| Winstanley | 158 | 20 | 178 | 88.8% |
| Golborne And Lowton West | 156 | 12 | 168 | 92.9% |
| Shevington With Lower Ground | 148 | 7 | 155 | 95.5% |
| Leigh West | 140 | 14 | 154 | 90.9% |
| Hindley | 128 | 12 | 140 | 91.4% |
| Leigh East | 118 | 15 | 133 | 88.7% |
| Bryn | 113 | 11 | 124 | 91.1% |
| Wigan West | 104 | 14 | 118 | 88.1% |
| Worsley Mesnes | 105 | 12 | 117 | 89.7% |
| Ashton In Makerfield South | 57 | 6 | 63 | 90.5% |
| Aspull New Springs Whelley | 43 | 14 | 57 | 75.4% |
| Shevington With Lower Ground And Moor | 45 | 11 | 56 | 80.4% |
| Astley | 44 | 7 | 51 | 86.3% |
| Atherton South And Lilford | 39 | 11 | 50 | 78.0% |
| Douglas | 39 | 5 | 44 | 88.6% |
| Leigh Central And Higher Folds | 36 | 8 | 44 | 81.8% |
| Tyldesley And Mosley Common | 31 | 12 | 43 | 72.1% |
| Bryn With Ashton In Makerfield North | 28 | 7 | 35 | 80.0% |
| Pemberton | 28 | 7 | 35 | 80.0% |
Showing top 25 of 29 wards by volume. Your free property report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →How Wigan’s planning approval rate has changed year by year — down 2.5pp since 2020.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Wigan council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| A/26/100395/PDE Winstanley | Single storey rear extension projecting 6.0 metres, height to the eaves 2.27 met | Approved |
| A/26/100379/PDE Wigan Central | Single storey rear extension projecting 4.5 metres, height to the eaves 2.4 metr | Approved |
| A/26/100374/PDE Standish With Langtree | Single storey rear extension projecting 5.5 metres, height to the eaves 2.25 met | Approved |
| A/26/100288/PDE Pemberton | Single storey rear extension projecting 3.37 metres, height to the eaves 2.55 me | Refused |
| A/25/100230/HH Wigan West | Single storey side extension | Approved |
| A/25/100192/HH Abram | Front dormer with external alterations | Approved |
| A/26/100314/WTTPO Lowton East | T4 Sycamore - Request to crown lift client side by up to 5m, lateral reduction o | Approved |
| A/26/100325/WTTPO Standish With Langtree | T1 - Oak Reduce canopy up to 2.5 metres from branch tips. Southern side of canop | Approved |
| A/25/100183/PDE Wigan West | Single storey rear extension projecting 4.05 metres, height to eaves 2.4 metres | Approved |
| A/25/100222/PDE Ashton In Makerfield South | Single storey rear extension with a projection of 4 metres, height eaves 2.47 me | Approved |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your free property report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on Wigan's 4,758 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Wigan's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
Dig deeper into Wigan's planning statistics — by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Yes. PlanningLens offers a free planning permission check for Wigan. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 4,758 real decisions from Wigan council. The full property-specific report is also free and emailed within minutes.
Enter your postcode on PlanningLens for a free instant check based on Wigan's real planning decisions. The free property report goes further: it analyses the 20 nearest comparable decisions to your property, ward-level refusal patterns, and approval rates by application type. Free and emailed within minutes.
Based on 4,758 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Wigan is 89.6%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.0%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 4,758 planning decisions from Wigan council. 4,261 were approved and 497 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Wigan is 89.6%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the free PlanningLens postcode check to get a personalised score.