Decision times · North West
How long planning decisions take in Bolton
75 days. Ranked 288 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Bolton took 75 days from submission to decision — 19 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 370 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Bolton compares
Year to September 2026
Bolton takes longer than the country as a whole: 19 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 32%.
The average here is 92 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 163 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 118 32%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 135 36%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 117 32%
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.
| Twelve months to | Median days | UK rank |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 75 | 288 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 63 | 258 of 328 |
| September 2025 | 56 | 166 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 55 | 87 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 55 | 90 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 55 | 91 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 56 days, Bolton has moved down 122 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.
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Prior approval 14 decided 40 days
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Amendments 14 decided 41 days
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Advertising 10 decided 50 days
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Lawful development 15 decided 53 days
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Householder 115 decided 60 days
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Trees 43 decided 69 days
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Conditions 42 decided 78 days
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Full applications 91 decided 103 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 12 decided 138 days
What Bolton decides
Year to September 2026
Bolton issued 370 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 82% were approvals: 255 granted against 56 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 Bolton?
The median planning application decided by Bolton in the year to September 2026 took 75 days from submission to decision, 19 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 370 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 288 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Bolton meet the eight week target?
32% of the 370 decisions Bolton made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 68% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 163 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Bolton faster or slower than average?
Bolton is slower than average: its median of 75 days is 19 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is Bolton getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 56 days, Bolton has moved down 122 places in the table. Its median has risen by 19 days.
What proportion of applications does Bolton approve?
82% of the clear-cut outcomes Bolton issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 255 granted against 56 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Bolton planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 75 days from application to decision (19 days beyond the eight week target), across 370 decisions with both dates published. 32% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 68% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 163 days. Ranked 288 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 82% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.