Wrexham is one of the easiest places in the country to win planning permission, refusing just 1 in 19 projects.
Wrexham council decided 1,578 planning applications across 2024 and 2025 and approved 94.7% of them, well above the national rate of 87.6%. Only 5.3% were refused, against a national 12.4%, so an applicant here is less than half as likely to be turned down. In 2025 alone, 878 applications were submitted to the council. The town also stands out for its heritage activity: listed-building consent applications ran at more than twice the national share.
The year in one line
Wrexham approves planning applications at well above the national rate, refuses fewer than 1 in 19, and sees listed-building consent at double the national share, reflecting a town where permission is easier to come by and heritage buildings remain active.
What Wrexham Is Building
Extensions lead, with listed-building works well above the national share.
Home extensions were the most common type submitted to Wrexham council in 2025, at 17.6% of all applications, below the national share of 29.1%. The standout category is listed-building works, at 5.1% of the mix against a national 2.4%, more than double the national rate. Conservation-area works also ran above the norm, at 2.9% versus a national 1.9%. This reflects an area with a substantial stock of protected and historically significant buildings.
Applications submitted to Wrexham in 2025, by project type.
Heritage stands out
Listed-building works ran at 5.1% of the mix, more than double the national 2.4%. Conservation-area works were also above average at 2.9% versus 1.9% nationally. Wrexham's historic built environment generates more consent activity than most places.
The council verdict
A very permissive council.
Wrexham approved 94.7% of the applications it decided across 2024 and 2025, and refused only 5.3%, well below the national 12.4% refusal rate. An applicant here is less than half as likely to be turned down as the national average. The retrospective rate was just 0.5%, against a national 3.7%, meaning almost nobody builds first and applies later.
About 1 in 19 Wrexham applications was turned down.
of decided applications were refused, against a national 12.4%. Wrexham's approval rate, at 94.7%, sits well above the national norm.
Wrexham vs The National Norm
Listed works at double the national rate; extensions well below it.
Set Wrexham's figures against the national average and two things stand out. Listed-building works run at 5.1% of applications, against a national 2.4%, more than double the national share. Conservation-area works are also elevated, at 2.9% versus 1.9%. On the other side, home extensions are well below the national share, at 17.6% compared with 29.1%, and demolition is less than half the national rate at 4.0% versus 9.1%. The approval rate, at 94.7%, is the highest-profile outlier of all.
Listed-building consent applications ran at more than double the national share, reflecting a town with a significant stock of protected buildings requiring formal consent for any alteration.
Each bar is Wrexham's share of applications submitted in 2025; the marker is the national share.
Meanwhile, the market
Prices rose alongside the building work.
Permission may be easier to win here, but prices have not stood still: the average Wrexham home is worth markedly more than a year ago.
Wrexham's planning data tells two clear stories. First, this is one of the more permissive local planning authorities in the country: the council approved 94.7% of applications and refused just 1 in 19, well below the national rate. Second, the heritage character of the area shows in the numbers: listed-building consent applications run at more than double the national share. If you need consent for work on a historic building in Wrexham, the odds of getting it are very good.
Where the numbers come from
Planning Data
Applications submitted to Wrexham council in 2025, classified from each application's published description. Shares and rates are computed over the pooled 2024 and 2025 window for stability; volume figures are per year.
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 Wrexham 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 Wrexham council, from the listed-building work that marks the town's mix to extensions that the council waves through. Open any one to see its full record.
23 Westminster Drive LL12 7AT
A single-storey rear extension, the most common project type submitted to Wrexham, was granted.
See this property's full record21 Jeffreys Road LL12 7PB
Front and rear single-storey extensions were approved, the kind of routine home enlargement the council waves through.
See this property's full record18 The Beeches LL12 7BL
A plan to change a dwelling into a house in multiple occupation was turned down, one of the roughly 1 in 19 applications the council refused.
See this property's full record1 The Woodlands Chester Road, Gresford LL12 8NU
An existing outbuilding was approved for conversion into an annexe ancillary to the main house, the kind of project Wrexham processes readily.
See this property's full recordPinfold House Rossett Road, Rossett LL12 0DQ
Single and two-storey rear extensions plus a first-floor side extension and internal alterations were granted, one of the larger home projects of the year.
See this property's full record9 Min Yr Aber, Bradley LL11 4BH
Permission was granted to form a new vehicular access, the kind of minor works that pass readily within the Wrexham area.
See this property's full recordCurious about a home in Wrexham?
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