Decision times · Wales
How long planning decisions take in Neath Port Talbot
56 days. Ranked 163 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Neath Port Talbot took 56 days from submission to decision — exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 436 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Neath Port Talbot compares
Year to September 2026
Neath Port Talbot sits exactly on the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 50%.
The average here is 74 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 146 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 220 50%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 106 24%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 110 25%
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 | 56 | 163 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 55 | 134 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 52 | 92 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 50 | 108 of 236 |
| September 2025 | 57 | 206 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 65 | 232 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 65 | 240 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 65 | 245 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 57 days, Neath Port Talbot has moved up 43 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.
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Prior approval 10 decided 23 days
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Outline 11 decided 35 days
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Amendments 31 decided 37 days
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Lawful development 54 decided 41 days
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Conditions 69 decided 46 days
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Trees 22 decided 53 days
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Full applications 223 decided 72 days
What Neath Port Talbot decides
Year to September 2026
Neath Port Talbot issued 436 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 96% were approvals: 345 granted against 14 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 Neath Port Talbot?
The median planning application decided by Neath Port Talbot in the year to September 2026 took 56 days from submission to decision, exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 436 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 163 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Neath Port Talbot meet the eight week target?
50% of the 436 decisions Neath Port Talbot made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 75% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 146 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Neath Port Talbot faster or slower than average?
Neath Port Talbot sits exactly on the national median of 56 days.
Is Neath Port Talbot getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 57 days, Neath Port Talbot has moved up 43 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 1 day.
What proportion of applications does Neath Port Talbot approve?
96% of the clear-cut outcomes Neath Port Talbot issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 345 granted against 14 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
Click the text to select the whole citation.
Neath Port Talbot planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 56 days from application to decision (exactly the eight week target), across 436 decisions with both dates published. 50% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 75% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 146 days. Ranked 163 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 96% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.