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Decision times · South West

How long planning decisions take in Gloucester

57 days. Ranked 186 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Gloucester took 57 days from submission to decision — 1 day beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 608 decisions where the council published both dates.

57 days
Median decision 1 day beyond the eight week target
186 of 343
UK rank down 103 places in a year
49%
Within eight weeks 77% within thirteen
211 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Gloucester compares

Year to September 2026

Gloucester takes longer than the country as a whole: 1 day above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 49%.

The average here is 91 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 211 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 297 49%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 173 28%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 138 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.

Gloucester: 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 57 186 of 343
June 2026 53 90 of 328
March 2026 50 67 of 243
December 2025 37 24 of 236
September 2025 50 83 of 324
June 2025 57 160 of 313
March 2025 57 162 of 315
December 2024 57 165 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 50 days, Gloucester has moved down 103 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. Telecoms 65 decided 4 days
  2. Trees 51 decided 8 days
  3. Outline 11 decided 45 days
  4. Lawful development 55 decided 50 days
  5. Conditions 72 decided 55 days
  6. Advertising 11 decided 70 days
  7. Full applications 301 decided 70 days
  8. Heritage and listed buildings 21 decided 98 days

How these types compare nationally

What Gloucester decides

Year to September 2026

Gloucester issued 608 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 82% were approvals: 410 granted against 89 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 Gloucester?

The median planning application decided by Gloucester in the year to September 2026 took 57 days from submission to decision, 1 day beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 608 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 186 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Gloucester meet the eight week target?

49% of the 608 decisions Gloucester 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 211 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Gloucester faster or slower than average?

Gloucester is slower than average: its median of 57 days is 1 day above the national median of 56 days.

Is Gloucester getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 50 days, Gloucester has moved down 103 places in the table. Its median has risen by 7 days.

What proportion of applications does Gloucester approve?

82% of the clear-cut outcomes Gloucester issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 410 granted against 89 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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Gloucester planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 57 days from application to decision (1 day beyond the eight week target), across 608 decisions with both dates published. 49% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 77% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 211 days. Ranked 186 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 82% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.