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Decision times · Scotland

How long planning decisions take in Argyll and Bute

56 days. Ranked 140 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Argyll and Bute took 56 days from submission to decision — exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 1,258 decisions where the council published both dates.

56 days
Median decision exactly the eight week target
140 of 343
UK rank up 170 places in a year
50%
Within eight weeks 67% within thirteen
245 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Argyll and Bute compares

Year to September 2026

Argyll and Bute sits exactly on the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 50%.

The average here is 95 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 245 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 632 50%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 210 17%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 416 33%

The last few years

Each row is a full twelve months of decisions, ending in the quarter shown

Rolling twelve month windows overlap by nine months, so this reads as a trend rather than as four separate quarters. Only windows our records reach far enough back to measure in full are listed.

Argyll and Bute: median days from application to decision, by rolling twelve month window. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.
Twelve months to Median days UK rank
September 2026 56 140 of 343
June 2026 55 124 of 328
March 2026 55 136 of 243
December 2025 59 186 of 236
September 2025 99 310 of 324
June 2025 103 301 of 313
March 2025 75 277 of 315
December 2024 59 187 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 99 days, Argyll and Bute has moved up 170 places in the table.

By type of application

Year to September 2026 · types with at least ten decisions

The headline median mixes every kind of application together. A householder extension and an outline application for a housing site are not the same job, and the difference between them is usually larger than the difference between two councils.

  1. Telecoms 166 decided 2 days
  2. Trees 44 decided 23 days
  3. Other 37 decided 29 days
  4. Amendments 60 decided 37 days
  5. Conditions 128 decided 37 days
  6. Prior approval 19 decided 44 days
  7. Advertising 17 decided 63 days
  8. Outline 139 decided 66 days
  9. Heritage and listed buildings 88 decided 82 days
  10. Full applications 475 decided 95 days

How these types compare nationally

What Argyll and Bute decides

Year to September 2026

Argyll and Bute issued 1,259 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 98% were approvals: 817 granted against 16 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes sit outside that percentage rather than being counted as either.

Speed and approval rate are separate things. A council that refuses quickly is not doing the same job as one that negotiates an approval slowly, and neither figure alone says which served the applicant better.

Common questions

How long does a planning decision take in Argyll and Bute?

The median planning application decided by Argyll and Bute in the year to September 2026 took 56 days from submission to decision, exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 1,258 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 140 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Argyll and Bute meet the eight week target?

50% of the 1,258 decisions Argyll and Bute made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 67% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 245 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Argyll and Bute faster or slower than average?

Argyll and Bute sits exactly on the national median of 56 days.

Is Argyll and Bute getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 99 days, Argyll and Bute has moved up 170 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 43 days.

What proportion of applications does Argyll and Bute approve?

98% of the clear-cut outcomes Argyll and Bute issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 817 granted against 16 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

Argyll and Bute planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 56 days from application to decision (exactly the eight week target), across 1,258 decisions with both dates published. 50% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 67% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 245 days. Ranked 140 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 98% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.