Solihull approves 91% of planning applications. Garage conversions run at nearly three times the national rate.
Solihull Council received 2,021 planning applications in 2025. Of those that have been decided, 91.1% were approved, well above the national rate of 87.6%. Only 1 in 11 applications was refused. What makes Solihull distinctive is its mix: garage conversions ran at 2.8 times the national rate, loft conversions at twice the norm, and home extensions accounted for 46.7% of all applications, against a national average of 29.1%.
The year in one line
Solihull approves planning applications well above the national rate, only 1 in 11 is refused, and garage conversions run at nearly three times the national share, the mark of a suburban town expanding what it already has.
What Solihull Is Building
Extensions dominate, conversions set the town apart.
Home extensions were by far the most common project type submitted to Solihull Council in 2025, accounting for 46.7% of all applications, well above the national norm of 29.1%. The figures that distinguish Solihull are conversions: garage conversions made up 6.8% of applications, nearly three times the national rate of 2.4%, and loft conversions another 5.5%, more than twice the national share of 2.6%. This is the application mix of a suburban town with a large established housing stock, where the building work is about expanding and reusing what is already there.
Applications submitted to Solihull Council in 2025, by project type (2024-2025 pooled counts).
The conversion effect
Solihull files garage conversions at nearly three times the national rate and loft conversions at more than twice. In a town of established family homes, owners convert garage and roof space rather than break new ground.
The council verdict
A permissive council.
Solihull Council approved 91.1% of the applications it decided and refused 8.9%, about 1 in 11. Both figures sit clearly on the permissive side of the national average: nationally, 87.6% of applications are approved and 12.4% refused. Solihull's approval rate makes it easier than average to get permission here.
About 1 in 11 Solihull applications was turned down.
of applications approved, against a national rate of 87.6%. Only 1 in 11 was refused, compared with 1 in 8 nationally.
Solihull vs The National Norm
A town that extends and converts, by the numbers.
Set Solihull's application mix against the national average and the pattern is clear. Home extensions account for nearly half of all applications here, well above the national share of 29.1%. Garage conversions run at 2.8 times the national rate and loft conversions at more than twice. The town does less demolition than the national average and fewer retrospective applications, the profile of a place confident enough in the planning system to ask before it builds.
Solihull files garage conversions at nearly three times the national rate. In a town of established family homes, owners convert existing space rather than build anew.
Each bar is Solihull's share of applications; the marker is the national share. Garage conversions are the town's sharpest divergence.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices rose alongside the building work.
Owners are extending and converting established homes, and values have climbed with them across the Solihull post town.
Solihull's planning data tells a clear story. This is a permissive area where the council approves more than nine in ten applications, and it is a place where owners adapt what they already have. Garage and loft conversions run well above the national rate, home extensions account for nearly half of all applications, and owners build before seeking permission far less often than the national norm. For buyers here, the question is usually not whether you can improve, but how.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to Solihull Council in 2025 (latest full year), classified from each application's published description. Shares and rates are computed over the pooled 2024-2025 window for stability.
Decision Rates
Approval rate is approvals as a share of approvals plus refusals. 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 Solihull 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 Solihull Council, from the extensions and garage conversions that define the town's mix to a sample of refusals. Open any one to see its full record.
68 Bradbury Road B92 8AF
A single-storey rear extension, the most common project type in Solihull, was approved.
See this property's full record32a Links Drive B91 2DL
A side extension combined with a garage conversion was granted, the pairing Solihull files at nearly three times the national rate.
See this property's full record38 Ventnor Road B92 9BT
A proposal pairing a rear extension, side extension and garage conversion was turned down, one of the roughly 1 in 11 applications the council refused.
See this property's full recordLittle Beaumonts Broad Lane, Tanworth In Arden B94 5DP
A lawful development certificate for a double-storey rear extension, side extension and outhouse was refused.
See this property's full record2 Coton Grove, Shirley B90 1BS
A retrospective scheme combining a loft conversion with dormer, rear and side extensions and a garage extension was approved.
See this property's full recordTudor Croft Tanners Green Lane, Earlswood B94 5JT
Conversion of a two-storey garage with a new dormer and a link extension to an existing outbuilding was granted, the kind of space reuse that defines the town.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Solihull?
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