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Decision times · Scotland

How long planning decisions take in Inverclyde

59 days. Ranked 214 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Inverclyde took 59 days from submission to decision — 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 231 decisions where the council published both dates.

59 days
Median decision 3 days beyond the eight week target
214 of 343
UK rank down 140 places in a year
40%
Within eight weeks 83% within thirteen
104 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Inverclyde compares

Year to September 2026

Inverclyde takes longer than the country as a whole: 3 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 40%.

The average here is 73 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 104 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 92 40%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 100 43%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 39 17%

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.

Inverclyde: 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 59 214 of 343
June 2026 58 220 of 328
March 2026 57 183 of 243
December 2025 58 185 of 236
September 2025 49 74 of 324
June 2025 45 17 of 313
March 2025 43 12 of 315
December 2024 42 10 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 49 days, Inverclyde has moved down 140 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 12 decided 28 days
  2. Trees 25 decided 53 days
  3. Heritage and listed buildings 15 decided 59 days
  4. Full applications 157 decided 60 days
  5. Advertising 11 decided 64 days

How these types compare nationally

What Inverclyde decides

Year to September 2026

Inverclyde issued 231 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 97% were approvals: 219 granted against 6 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 Inverclyde?

The median planning application decided by Inverclyde in the year to September 2026 took 59 days from submission to decision, 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 231 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 214 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Inverclyde meet the eight week target?

40% of the 231 decisions Inverclyde made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 83% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 104 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Inverclyde faster or slower than average?

Inverclyde is slower than average: its median of 59 days is 3 days above the national median of 56 days.

Is Inverclyde getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 49 days, Inverclyde has moved down 140 places in the table. Its median has risen by 10 days.

What proportion of applications does Inverclyde approve?

97% of the clear-cut outcomes Inverclyde issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 219 granted against 6 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

Inverclyde planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 59 days from application to decision (3 days beyond the eight week target), across 231 decisions with both dates published. 40% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 83% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 104 days. Ranked 214 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 97% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.