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Decision times · Scotland

How long planning decisions take in Falkirk

56 days. Ranked 162 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Falkirk took 56 days from submission to decision — exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 438 decisions where the council published both dates.

56 days
Median decision exactly the eight week target
162 of 343
UK rank up 62 places in a year
50%
Within eight weeks 77% within thirteen
156 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Falkirk compares

Year to September 2026

Falkirk 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 80 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 156 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 221 50%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 117 27%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 100 23%

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.

Falkirk: 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 56 162 of 343
June 2026 53 92 of 328
March 2026 56 173 of 243
December 2025 49 99 of 236
September 2025 60 224 of 324
June 2025 63 224 of 313
March 2025 63 230 of 315
December 2024 63 235 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 60 days, Falkirk has moved up 62 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 36 decided 46 days
  2. Conditions 61 decided 52 days
  3. Full applications 275 decided 57 days
  4. Heritage and listed buildings 27 decided 66 days
  5. Advertising 22 decided 69 days

How these types compare nationally

What Falkirk decides

Year to September 2026

Falkirk issued 438 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 98% were approvals: 325 granted against 5 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 Falkirk?

The median planning application decided by Falkirk in the year to September 2026 took 56 days from submission to decision, exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 438 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 162 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Falkirk meet the eight week target?

50% of the 438 decisions Falkirk made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 77% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 156 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Falkirk faster or slower than average?

Falkirk sits exactly on the national median of 56 days.

Is Falkirk getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 60 days, Falkirk has moved up 62 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 4 days.

What proportion of applications does Falkirk approve?

98% of the clear-cut outcomes Falkirk issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 325 granted against 5 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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Falkirk planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 56 days from application to decision (exactly the eight week target), across 438 decisions with both dates published. 50% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 77% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 156 days. Ranked 162 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 98% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.