Warrington refuses 1 in 5 planning applications, well above the national rate of 1 in 8.
Warrington Council received 1,527 planning applications in 2025, the latest full year on record. Of the applications that received a decision across 2024 and 2025, the council refused 19.4% -- against a national refusal rate of 12.4%. Home extensions make up 40.8% of applications, well above the national share of 29.1%, and HMO conversions run at 1.7 times the national rate.
The year in one line
Warrington Council refused 19.4% of decided applications in 2024-2025, well above the national rate of 12.4%, while home extensions dominated the mix at 40.8% of all submissions and HMO conversions ran at 1.7 times the national share.
What Warrington Is Building
Extensions dominate, with HMO conversions a growing thread.
Home extensions were the most common project submitted to Warrington Council in 2025, making up 40.8% of all applications against a national share of 29.1%. Demolition came second at 7.3%, followed by dormers at 4.8%. HMO conversions, at 2.1% of applications, ran at 1.7 times the national share of 1.2% and were the only category to stand out clearly above the national norm. This is the application profile of a town heavily focused on extending existing homes.
Applications submitted to Warrington Council in 2025, by project type. Counts from the 2024-2025 pooled dataset used for share calculations.
The HMO signal
Warrington's HMO conversion rate is the one category that stands clearly above the national norm, at 1.7 times the national share. With 64 applications across the two-year window, the trend toward shared housing is a measurable feature of the town's planning mix.
The council verdict
A tougher council than most.
Of the 2,485 applications decided across 2024 and 2025, Warrington Council approved 2,003 (80.6%) and refused 482 (19.4%). The national approval rate is 87.6%, meaning the council refuses applications at roughly 1.6 times the national rate. There were 88 withdrawals. Retrospective applications -- where work is done before permission is sought -- accounted for 3.9% of the mix, close to the national 3.7%.
About 1 in 5 Warrington applications was turned down, well above the national rate.
of decided applications refused, against a national rate of 12.4%. Warrington is notably harder to get permission from than the typical English planning authority.
Warrington vs The National Norm
Extensions above the norm, HMOs the clearest outlier.
Set Warrington's application mix against the national average and home extensions stand 1.4 times the national share, at 40.8% against 29.1%. HMO conversions are the one category that clears the 1.5x threshold, at 1.7 times the national share of 1.2%. Demolition and dormers are both below the national norm. The town's refusal rate, at 19.4% against a national 12.4%, is the most striking divergence of all.
Warrington's HMO conversion rate relative to the national share -- the only category that robustly clears the 1.5x threshold. The refusal rate, at 19.4% against 12.4% nationally, is the broader story.
Each bar is Warrington's share of applications submitted in 2025; the marker is the national share. HMO conversions are the town's clearest above-norm category.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices rose alongside the building work.
The average Warrington home sold for the figure below in the latest full year, with the building work continuing across the town.
Warrington's planning data has two clear findings. First, the council is a tougher gatekeeper than most: it refuses roughly 1 in 5 applications, well above the national rate of 1 in 8. Second, the application mix is dominated by home extensions, and HMO conversions run at 1.7 times the national share -- a signal that shared housing demand is a live part of the local market. Anyone planning work in Warrington should treat a refusal as a realistic outcome, not an edge case.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to Warrington Council in 2025, classified from each application's published description. Rates and shares are computed over the pooled 2024-2025 window for statistical 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 Warrington area, 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 Warrington Council, from home extensions and HMO conversions to a run of refusals. Open any one to see its full record.
8 Town Green, Higher Whitley WA4 4QQ
A scheme to demolish existing extensions and build front, side and rear extensions was approved, the kind of expansion that makes up the largest share of Warrington's applications.
See this property's full record46 Beech Road, Golborne WA3 3DE
A single-storey wrap-around extension to the side and rear was granted, one of the many extensions making up over 40% of the town's applications.
See this property's full record25 Chandler Way, Lowton WA3 2LR
A part two-storey, part single-storey side and rear extension was turned down, one of the roughly 1 in 5 applications the council refused.
See this property's full record13 Garside Avenue, Lowton WA3 2RT
A two-storey side and single-storey rear extension with a front dormer was approved after the demolition of a side garage.
See this property's full record7 Winwick Lane, Lowton WA3 1LR
A large scheme of side and rear extensions was refused, reflecting the council's above-national refusal rate for extension applications.
See this property's full record61 Park Road, Golborne WA3 3PS
A two-storey side extension was granted, a straightforward addition of the type that leads the Warrington mix.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Warrington?
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