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Decision times · Scotland

How long planning decisions take in Clackmannanshire

50 days. Ranked 39 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Clackmannanshire took 50 days from submission to decision — 6 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 136 decisions where the council published both dates.

50 days
Median decision 6 days inside the eight week target
39 of 343
UK rank up 219 places in a year
63%
Within eight weeks 90% within thirteen
91 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Clackmannanshire compares

Year to September 2026

Clackmannanshire decides faster than the country as a whole: 6 days below the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 63%.

The average here is 56 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 91 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 85 63%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 38 28%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 13 10%

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.

Clackmannanshire: 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 50 39 of 343
June 2026 49 47 of 328
March 2026 48 51 of 243
September 2025 65 258 of 324
June 2025 66 240 of 313
March 2025 66 246 of 315
December 2024 66 251 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 65 days, Clackmannanshire has moved up 219 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. Lawful development 14 decided 34 days
  2. Trees 12 decided 37 days
  3. Heritage and listed buildings 13 decided 49 days
  4. Full applications 82 decided 57 days

How these types compare nationally

What Clackmannanshire decides

Year to September 2026

Clackmannanshire issued 136 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 97% were approvals: 126 granted against 4 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 Clackmannanshire?

The median planning application decided by Clackmannanshire in the year to September 2026 took 50 days from submission to decision, 6 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 136 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 39 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Clackmannanshire meet the eight week target?

63% of the 136 decisions Clackmannanshire made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 90% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 91 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Clackmannanshire faster or slower than average?

Clackmannanshire is faster than average: its median of 50 days is 6 days below the national median of 56 days.

Is Clackmannanshire getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 65 days, Clackmannanshire has moved up 219 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 15 days.

What proportion of applications does Clackmannanshire approve?

97% of the clear-cut outcomes Clackmannanshire issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 126 granted against 4 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

Clackmannanshire planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 50 days from application to decision (6 days inside the eight week target), across 136 decisions with both dates published. 63% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 90% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 91 days. Ranked 39 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 97% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.