Wirral planning approval rate
Wirral council approved 87.6% of planning applications and refused 12.4%, based on 7,846 decisions analysed. Ranked 79th out of 284 councils for strictness.
Last updated: June 2026 · Based on decisions from January 2020 to present
87.6%
overall approval rate
7,846
Decisions analysed
6,872
Approved
974
Refused
22
Wards covered
Planning in Wirral? 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 Wirral. Householder and full planning applications typically have the highest volume.
87.6%
Approval rate by project type
These rates are based on what homeowners are actually building in Wirral, mined from 7,846 proposal descriptions.
91.3%
92.7%
87.3%
88.5%
81.9%
95.0%
76.7%
91.0%
86.3%
90.2%
80.6%
74.0%
75.0%
85.7%
53.3%
84.4%
Approval rate by ward
Planning outcomes vary significantly by ward within Wirral. Click any ward for detailed statistics.
Heswall
89.3%
West Kirby and Thurstaston
88.1%
Hoylake and Meols
86.0%
Greasby, Frankby and Irby
85.0%
Bromborough
93.7%
Clatterbridge
87.3%
Birkenhead & Tranmere
86.0%
Pensby and Thingwall
90.5%
Bebington
88.4%
Eastham
87.3%
Oxton
89.4%
Claughton
85.7%
Moreton West and Saughall Massie
89.7%
Prenton
86.0%
Wallasey
82.4%
Bidston and St James
85.3%
Leasowe and Moreton East
88.9%
New Brighton
85.4%
Upton
84.4%
Liscard
83.9%
Wards in Wirral
Heswall
89.3% approval · 931 decisions
West Kirby and Thurstaston
88.1% approval · 714 decisions
Hoylake and Meols
86.0% approval · 536 decisions
Greasby, Frankby and Irby
85.0% approval · 486 decisions
Bromborough
93.7% approval · 479 decisions
Clatterbridge
87.3% approval · 473 decisions
Birkenhead & Tranmere
86.0% approval · 371 decisions
Pensby and Thingwall
90.5% approval · 347 decisions
Bebington
88.4% approval · 337 decisions
Eastham
87.3% approval · 314 decisions
Oxton
89.4% approval · 310 decisions
Claughton
85.7% approval · 286 decisions
Moreton West and Saughall Massie
89.7% approval · 253 decisions
Prenton
86.0% approval · 250 decisions
Wallasey
82.4% approval · 239 decisions
Bidston and St James
85.3% approval · 238 decisions
Leasowe and Moreton East
88.9% approval · 217 decisions
New Brighton
85.4% approval · 212 decisions
Upton
84.4% approval · 205 decisions
Liscard
83.9% approval · 199 decisions
Recent comparable decisions
The most recent residential planning decisions in Wirral, showing how the council decides real applications.
Proposed demolition of Dominick House, St Albans Road, Liscard, CH44 5XS. · Liscard · 2026-06-29
Installation of extractor unit from kitchen area · Hoylake and Meols · 2026-06-29
Vary C2 - extend the garage wall forward in line with the front of the porch (26 · Heswall · 2026-06-22
Showing 3 of 200 comparable decisions. See all 200 in the full report →
What gets approved near your property?
In Wirral, 1 in 8 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 Wirral
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free planning check for Wirral →
✓ Common refusal reasons in Wirral
✓ Your 10 nearest comparable planning decisions
✓ Appeal success rates
✓ PDF report to share with your architect
Free. Based on 7,846 decisions.
Compare with nearby councils
Frequently asked questions about planning in Wirral
What is the planning approval rate in Wirral?
Based on 7,846 planning decisions analysed since 2020, Wirral approved 87.6% of applications and refused 12.4%. The council is ranked 79th out of 284 UK councils for approval rate.
How many planning applications are refused in Wirral?
Wirral refuses 12.4% of planning applications, roughly 1 in 8. That is close to the UK average of 11.7%. Out of 7,846 decided applications since 2020, 974 were refused. PlanningLens lets you check any postcode to see which applications were refused near a specific property.
Which areas of Wirral have the highest planning approval rates?
The highest approval rates in Wirral are in Bromborough (93.7%), Pensby and Thingwall (90.5%), and Moreton West and Saughall Massie (89.7%). Approval rates vary significantly by ward, see the full ward breakdown above.
What types of planning application are most common in Wirral?
The most common planning application types in Wirral are: Other (7,846 decisions, 87.6% approved).
How long does a planning application take in Wirral?
Most planning applications in Wirral are decided within 8 weeks for householder applications and 13 weeks for major developments, the statutory targets set by central government. With 7,846 decisions analysed since 2020, Wirral processes approximately 1,308 planning applications per year.
How do I check planning applications in Wirral?
You can search planning applications in Wirral directly on the council's official planning portal. PlanningLens also lets you check any postcode against 7,846 historical decisions in Wirral to see what's been approved and refused near a specific property.
How is PlanningLens approval rate data for Wirral calculated?
PlanningLens scrapes Wirral'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.