Decision times · North West
How long planning decisions take in Manchester
55 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Manchester took 55 days from submission to decision — 1 day inside the eight week target. That is measured across 2,749 decisions where the council published both dates.
This council carries a figure but no rank
Not ranked yet: our records do not yet pass the historical coverage, monthly continuity, missing-date and refresh checks for this window. The figure above is still what the published dates say; it is left out of the league table so it cannot distort the ranking. See the methodology.
How Manchester compares
Year to December 2026
Manchester decides faster than the country as a whole: 2 days below the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 63%.
The average here is 63 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 91 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 1,730 63%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 758 28%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 261 9%
By type of application
Year to December 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.
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Trees 142 decided 41 days
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Prior approval 74 decided 45 days
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Amendments 224 decided 46 days
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Outline 12 decided 48 days
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Advertising 135 decided 53 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 133 decided 54 days
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Other 13 decided 54 days
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Householder 519 decided 55 days
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Full applications 457 decided 56 days
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Lawful development 168 decided 56 days
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Conditions 869 decided 57 days
What Manchester decides
Year to December 2026
Manchester issued 2,749 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 89% were approvals: 2,218 granted against 285 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 Manchester?
The median planning application decided by Manchester in the year to December 2026 took 55 days from submission to decision, 1 day inside the eight week target. That is measured across 2,749 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Manchester meet the eight week target?
63% of the 2,749 decisions Manchester made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 91% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 91 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Manchester faster or slower than average?
Manchester is faster than average: its median of 55 days is 2 days below the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Manchester approve?
89% of the clear-cut outcomes Manchester issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 2,218 granted against 285 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Manchester planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 55 days from application to decision (1 day inside the eight week target), across 2,749 decisions with both dates published. 63% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 91% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 91 days. 89% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.
Or take the data itself: this council's history (CSV) or the full league table (CSV).
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