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Rear Extension Approval Rates in Wirral

Rear extensions are the bread and butter of UK planning — and one of the most common reasons homeowners face a refusal. Here's what 2,299 real decisions tell us about rear extension outcomes in Wirral.

2,299 real decisions·January 2020 to September 2026·Updated September 2026
90.1%
Approval Rate
2,299
Decisions
2,072
Approved
227
Refused
90.1% approved. But 227 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.

These are council averages. Your property is specific.

Two houses on the same street can get different outcomes.
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 Wirral.

TypeDecisionsRate
Wraparound Extension353
94.6%
Side Extension1,524
91.7%
Front Extension325
90.2%
Rear Extension2,299
90.1%
Conservatory283
87.6%
Extension (General)797
87.3%
Garage / Parking1,331
85.7%
Annex73
83.6%
Outbuilding306
82.7%
Basement46
82.6%
Dormer600
79.0%
Change of Use (Residential)458
78.4%
Loft Conversion274
77.7%
New Build349
75.6%
Flat Conversion75
72.0%
Hip-to-Gable Conversion78
71.8%
HMO67
50.7%
See how this applies to your postcode →

What the data tells us

1
90.1% of rear extension applications in Wirral get approved. That means 227 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

227 rear extension applications in Wirral 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 3,840,000+ real decisions

More Wirral planning data

Methodology: Based on 2,299 planning decisions classified as rear extensions in Wirral, January 2020 to September 2026. 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 Wirral Council's public planning portal. Full methodology →
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