Decision times · Scotland
How long planning decisions take in Perth and Kinross
59 days. Ranked 209 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Perth and Kinross took 59 days from submission to decision — 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,197 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Perth and Kinross compares
Year to September 2026
Perth and Kinross 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 44%.
The average here is 71 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 132 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 525 44%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 430 36%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 242 20%
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 | 59 | 209 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 57 | 200 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 54 | 122 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 51 | 114 of 236 |
| September 2025 | 52 | 101 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 62 | 214 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 63 | 228 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 63 | 233 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 52 days, Perth and Kinross has moved down 108 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 100 decided 32 days
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Trees 89 decided 33 days
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Lawful development 79 decided 36 days
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Advertising 43 decided 58 days
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Outline 33 decided 61 days
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Full applications 716 decided 65 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 108 decided 65 days
What Perth and Kinross decides
Year to September 2026
Perth and Kinross issued 1,198 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 92% were approvals: 979 granted against 87 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 Perth and Kinross?
The median planning application decided by Perth and Kinross in the year to September 2026 took 59 days from submission to decision, 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,197 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 209 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Perth and Kinross meet the eight week target?
44% of the 1,197 decisions Perth and Kinross made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 80% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 132 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Perth and Kinross faster or slower than average?
Perth and Kinross is slower than average: its median of 59 days is 3 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is Perth and Kinross getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 52 days, Perth and Kinross has moved down 108 places in the table. Its median has risen by 7 days.
What proportion of applications does Perth and Kinross approve?
92% of the clear-cut outcomes Perth and Kinross issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 979 granted against 87 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Perth and Kinross planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 59 days from application to decision (3 days beyond the eight week target), across 1,197 decisions with both dates published. 44% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 80% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 132 days. Ranked 209 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 92% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.