Decision times · North West
How long planning decisions take in Knowsley
74 days. Ranked 285 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Knowsley took 74 days from submission to decision — 18 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 71 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Knowsley compares
Year to September 2026
Knowsley takes longer than the country as a whole: 18 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 31%.
The average here is 128 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 322 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
-
Within eight weeks the statutory target 22 31%
-
Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 20 28%
-
Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 29 41%
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.
| Twelve months to | Median days | UK rank |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 74 | 285 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 60 | 235 of 328 |
| September 2025 | 56 | 187 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 56 | 148 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 56 | 151 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 56 | 154 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 56 days, Knowsley has moved down 98 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.
-
Full applications 39 decided 71 days
-
Conditions 16 decided 116 days
What Knowsley decides
Year to September 2026
Knowsley issued 71 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 94% were approvals: 48 granted against 3 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 Knowsley?
The median planning application decided by Knowsley in the year to September 2026 took 74 days from submission to decision, 18 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 71 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 285 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Knowsley meet the eight week target?
31% of the 71 decisions Knowsley made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 59% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 322 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Knowsley faster or slower than average?
Knowsley is slower than average: its median of 74 days is 18 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is Knowsley getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 56 days, Knowsley has moved down 98 places in the table. Its median has risen by 18 days.
What proportion of applications does Knowsley approve?
94% of the clear-cut outcomes Knowsley issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 48 granted against 3 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
Click the text to select the whole citation.
Knowsley planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 74 days from application to decision (18 days beyond the eight week target), across 71 decisions with both dates published. 31% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 59% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 322 days. Ranked 285 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 94% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.