Wirral Council approves 87.6% of planning applications, based on 7,977 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Wirral sits 1.0 percentage points below the national average.
According to PlanningLens analysis of 1,248 decided applications, Wirral Council approved 87.2% of planning applications in 2025. Across 7,977 decisions analysed since January 2020, the overall approval rate in Wirral is 87.6%; the national average across UK councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%.
Source: PlanningLens (planninglens.co.uk) analysis of Wirral council planning portal records · Updated August 2026 · Quote freely with attribution
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 Wirral.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 6,986 | 991 | 7,977 | 87.6% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heswall | 840 | 106 | 946 | 88.8% |
| West Kirby and Thurstaston | 639 | 85 | 724 | 88.3% |
| Hoylake and Meols | 467 | 75 | 542 | 86.2% |
| Bromborough | 459 | 31 | 490 | 93.7% |
| Greasby, Frankby and Irby | 416 | 74 | 490 | 84.9% |
| Clatterbridge | 421 | 60 | 481 | 87.5% |
| Birkenhead & Tranmere | 327 | 54 | 381 | 85.8% |
| Pensby and Thingwall | 317 | 33 | 350 | 90.6% |
| Bebington | 306 | 40 | 346 | 88.4% |
| Eastham | 281 | 40 | 321 | 87.5% |
| Oxton | 279 | 36 | 315 | 88.6% |
| Claughton | 251 | 41 | 292 | 86.0% |
| Moreton West and Saughall Massie | 229 | 26 | 255 | 89.8% |
| Prenton | 218 | 37 | 255 | 85.5% |
| Bidston and St James | 208 | 36 | 244 | 85.2% |
| Wallasey | 199 | 42 | 241 | 82.6% |
| Leasowe and Moreton East | 198 | 24 | 222 | 89.2% |
| New Brighton | 185 | 31 | 216 | 85.6% |
| Upton | 176 | 32 | 208 | 84.6% |
| Liscard | 172 | 32 | 204 | 84.3% |
| Rock Ferry | 167 | 30 | 197 | 84.8% |
| Seacombe | 158 | 23 | 181 | 87.3% |
How Wirral’s planning approval rate has changed year by year, down 1.5pp since 2021.
Bar height reflects approval rate. Colour: green ≥85%, amber ≥70%, red below 70%.
Real residential planning decisions from Wirral council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| APPH/26/00848 Claughton | Demolition of Existing Conservatory. New Single Storey Side Extension. | Approved |
| APPH/26/00596 Heswall | Raising the front boundary wall by 90cm to 2.1m to level out the garden | Refused |
| APPH/26/00176 West Kirby and Thurstaston | Demolition of rear and side single storey extensions, single storey extensions t | Approved |
| APP/26/00884 Birkenhead & Tranmere | Conversion of commercial building to House of Multiple Occupation (24 single occ | Approved |
| LBC/26/00206 Moreton West and Saughall Massie | Replace glass in broken vandalised ground floor window with 1 sheet of 5mm persp | Approved |
| APPH/26/00821 West Kirby and Thurstaston | Reconfiguration of principal roof including hip to gable extension to facilitate | Approved |
| LBC/24/01632 Clatterbridge | Application for Listed Building Consent for conversion of Grade 2* former Place | Approved |
| APPH/26/00869 West Kirby and Thurstaston | The proposal comprises the construction of a single-storey rear extension with a | Approved |
| APPH/26/00797 Prenton | Enlargement of existing garage by raising roof with new pitched roof over and fo | Approved |
| APPH/26/00781 Eastham | Single storey wraparound extension to side and rear of dwelling. | 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 Wirral's 7,977 real decisions. Free, emailed in minutes.
Check my postcodeCompare Wirral's planning approval rates with neighbouring areas:
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Dig deeper into Wirral'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 Wirral. Enter your postcode to instantly see approval rates for your ward and application type, based on 7,977 real decisions from Wirral 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 Wirral'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 7,977 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Wirral is 87.6%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 88.6%. Rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 7,977 planning decisions from Wirral council. 6,986 were approved and 991 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Wirral is 87.6%, 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.
Writing about planning in Wirral? These figures are free to republish with attribution. Copy the one-line citation, or paste the stat box into any website, CMS or newsletter, it carries its own styling and links back to this page for verification.