Decision times · Yorkshire and The Humber
How long planning decisions take in Barnsley
70 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Barnsley took 70 days from submission to decision — 14 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 365 decisions where the council published both dates.
This council carries a figure but no rank
Not ranked yet: our records do not yet pass the historical coverage, monthly continuity, missing-date and refresh checks for this window. The figure above is still what the published dates say; it is left out of the league table so it cannot distort the ranking. See the methodology.
How Barnsley compares
Year to December 2026
Barnsley takes longer than the country as a whole: 13 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 38%.
The average here is 103 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 205 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 137 38%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 99 27%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 129 35%
By type of application
Year to December 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.
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Other 11 decided 15 days
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Prior approval 20 decided 42 days
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Lawful development 28 decided 48 days
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Advertising 11 decided 56 days
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Amendments 20 decided 59 days
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Conditions 32 decided 60 days
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Householder 122 decided 66 days
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Full applications 84 decided 94 days
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Trees 20 decided 134 days
What Barnsley decides
Year to December 2026
Barnsley issued 365 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 94% were approvals: 343 granted against 22 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 Barnsley?
The median planning application decided by Barnsley in the year to December 2026 took 70 days from submission to decision, 14 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 365 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Barnsley meet the eight week target?
38% of the 365 decisions Barnsley made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 65% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 205 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Barnsley faster or slower than average?
Barnsley is slower than average: its median of 70 days is 13 days above the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Barnsley approve?
94% of the clear-cut outcomes Barnsley issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 343 granted against 22 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Barnsley planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 70 days from application to decision (14 days beyond the eight week target), across 365 decisions with both dates published. 38% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 65% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 205 days. 94% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.
Or take the data itself: this council's history (CSV) or the full league table (CSV).
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<p>Data: <a href="https://planindex.co.uk/planning-decision-times/barnsley">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>