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Decision times · North West

How long planning decisions take in Bolton

60 days.

In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Bolton took 60 days from submission to decision — 4 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 792 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.

60 days
Median decision 4 days beyond the eight week target
44%
Within eight weeks 77% within thirteen
141 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Bolton compares

Year to December 2026

Bolton takes longer than the country as a whole: 3 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 44%.

The average here is 79 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 141 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 351 44%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 259 33%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 182 23%

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.

  1. Prior approval 14 decided 40 days
  2. Amendments 14 decided 41 days
  3. Advertising 10 decided 50 days
  4. Lawful development 16 decided 53 days
  5. Householder 115 decided 60 days
  6. Trees 43 decided 69 days
  7. Conditions 42 decided 78 days
  8. Full applications 90 decided 102 days
  9. Heritage and listed buildings 12 decided 138 days

How these types compare nationally

What Bolton decides

Year to December 2026

Bolton issued 792 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 80% were approvals: 508 granted against 124 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 December 2026 took 60 days from submission to decision, 4 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 792 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.

Does Bolton meet the eight week target?

44% of the 792 decisions Bolton made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 77% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 141 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 60 days is 3 days above the national median of 57 days.

What proportion of applications does Bolton approve?

80% of the clear-cut outcomes Bolton issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 508 granted against 124 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 December 2026: median 60 days from application to decision (4 days beyond the eight week target), across 792 decisions with both dates published. 44% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 77% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 141 days. 80% 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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