In Bury, loft conversions are filed at 2.7 times the national rate. And nearly 1 in 2 applications is a home extension.
Bury Council received 1,090 planning applications in 2025, up 11% on the previous year. The council approved 89.5% of the applications it decided, above the national rate of 87.6%. What sets the town apart is the mix: home extensions made up 49.1% of all applications, against a national average of 29.1%, and loft conversions ran at 2.7 times the national rate. It is the planning signature of a town where owners adapt and enlarge the homes they already have.
The year in one line
Bury approves 9 in 10 applications, above the national rate, and its mix is dominated by home improvements: extensions at 1.7 times the national share and loft conversions at 2.7 times, the mark of a town expanding upwards and outwards into the homes it already owns.
What Bury Is Building
Extensions dominate, and loft conversions stand out at 2.7 times the national rate.
Home extensions were the most common project by a wide margin, at 49.1% of all applications, against a national norm of 29.1%. Loft conversions made up 7.0% of applications, 2.7 times the national share of 2.6%. Dormers accounted for another 9.8%. This is the application mix of a town where most planning work is about adding space to buildings that already exist.
Applications submitted to Bury Council in 2025, by project type.
The extension effect
Bury files home extensions at 1.7 times the national rate and loft conversions at 2.7 times. Nearly 1 in 2 applications is an extension; the town is adding space to existing homes at a rate well above the national average.
The council verdict
A strong yes from the council.
Bury Council approved 89.5% of the applications it decided and refused 10.5%, better than the national average of roughly 1 in 8 refused. About 1 in 10 applications was turned down, a lower refusal rate than most councils across England and Wales.
About 1 in 10 Bury applications was turned down, below the national rate of 1 in 8.
of applications approved, above the national rate of 87.6%. About 1 in 10 was refused, compared with 1 in 8 nationally.
Bury vs The National Norm
An adapt-and-extend town, with lofts at 2.7 times the national rate.
Set Bury's application mix against the national average and two patterns stand out. Home extensions feature in nearly 1 in 2 applications here, 1.7 times the national share. Loft conversions run at 2.7 times the national rate. Taken together, these are the marks of a town whose planning workload is about adding space to buildings already occupied, rather than starting from scratch.
Bury files loft conversions at 2.7 times the national rate, the town's strongest standout, alongside home extensions at 1.7 times the national share.
Each bar is Bury's share of applications; the marker is the national share. Home extensions and loft conversions are the town's defining features.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices rose alongside the building work.
The town's owners are extending and converting the homes they already have, and values climbed sharply over the same year.
Bury's planning data tells a clear story. This is a town that expands what it already has. Nearly half of all applications are home extensions and loft conversions run at 2.7 times the national rate. The council approves 9 in 10 applications, above the national norm, and owners are less likely than almost anywhere else to build without asking first. For anyone buying here, the message is that extending and converting upwards is the local norm.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to Bury Council in 2025, classified from each application's published description. Shares are each category as a percentage of all applications submitted in the same period.
Decision Rates
Approval rate is approvals as a share of approvals plus refusals, computed over 2024-2025 pooled decisions. The national benchmarks are computed the same way across all decided applications in England and Wales.
Sales Data
HM Land Registry Price Paid Data for the Bury post town, the latest full year's completions, with growth measured against the previous year.
The Real Applications
Open the planning applications behind the numbers.
These are real applications submitted to Bury Council, from the home extensions and loft conversions that dominate the town to a change of use and a refusal. Open any one to see its full record.
39 Kingfisher Drive BL9 6JF
A single storey rear extension, the most common project type in Bury, was approved with conditions.
See this property's full record26 Rhodes Drive BL9 8NH
A first floor and two storey side extension was granted, one of the many extensions that make up nearly half of all local applications.
See this property's full record15 Taylor Street BL9 6DT
An application for a single storey rear extension was turned down, one of the roughly 1 in 10 the council refused.
See this property's full record17 Belle Vue Terrace BL9 0SY
Permission was granted to change a six bed house in multiple occupation into an eight bed one, the kind of HMO conversion work Bury files at nearly twice the national rate.
See this property's full recordFerns Farm Turton Road, Tottington BL8 3QH
Two existing outbuildings were cleared to make way for a single storey triple-bay carport, approved with conditions.
See this property's full record2 Leyton Drive BL9 9SL
A side and rear extension with a front porch and a rear dormer was approved, combining several of the town's most common project types.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Bury?
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