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Decision times · Scotland

How long planning decisions take in Glasgow City

78 days. Ranked 297 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Glasgow City took 78 days from submission to decision — 22 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,281 decisions where the council published both dates.

78 days
Median decision 22 days beyond the eight week target
297 of 343
UK rank up 10 places in a year
20%
Within eight weeks 61% within thirteen
152 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Glasgow City compares

Year to September 2026

Glasgow City takes longer than the country as a whole: 22 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 20%.

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, 152 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 252 20%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 534 42%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 495 39%

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.

Glasgow City: 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 78 297 of 343
June 2026 79 301 of 328
March 2026 77 220 of 243
December 2025 71 211 of 236
September 2025 94 307 of 324
June 2025 100 298 of 313
March 2025 100 302 of 315
December 2024 100 308 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 94 days, Glasgow City has moved up 10 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. Prior approval 29 decided 30 days
  2. Telecoms 16 decided 41 days
  3. Conditions 139 decided 55 days
  4. Lawful development 83 decided 61 days
  5. Advertising 115 decided 76 days
  6. Heritage and listed buildings 256 decided 81 days
  7. Full applications 642 decided 88 days

How these types compare nationally

What Glasgow City decides

Year to September 2026

Glasgow City issued 1,281 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 92% were approvals: 1,031 granted against 93 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 Glasgow City?

The median planning application decided by Glasgow City in the year to September 2026 took 78 days from submission to decision, 22 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,281 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 297 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Glasgow City meet the eight week target?

20% of the 1,281 decisions Glasgow City made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 61% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 152 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Glasgow City faster or slower than average?

Glasgow City is slower than average: its median of 78 days is 22 days above the national median of 56 days.

Is Glasgow City getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 94 days, Glasgow City has moved up 10 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 16 days.

What proportion of applications does Glasgow City approve?

92% of the clear-cut outcomes Glasgow City issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 1,031 granted against 93 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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Glasgow City planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 78 days from application to decision (22 days beyond the eight week target), across 1,281 decisions with both dates published. 20% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 61% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 152 days. Ranked 297 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 92% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.