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Decision times · Scotland

How long planning decisions take in Renfrewshire

59 days. Ranked 211 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Renfrewshire took 59 days from submission to decision — 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 536 decisions where the council published both dates.

59 days
Median decision 3 days beyond the eight week target
211 of 343
UK rank down 11 places in a year
47%
Within eight weeks 75% within thirteen
154 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Renfrewshire compares

Year to September 2026

Renfrewshire 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 47%.

The average here is 85 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 154 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 250 47%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 151 28%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 135 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.

Renfrewshire: 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 59 211 of 343
June 2026 55 132 of 328
March 2026 55 147 of 243
December 2025 49 97 of 236
September 2025 57 200 of 324
June 2025 63 221 of 313
March 2025 64 234 of 315
December 2024 64 239 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 57 days, Renfrewshire has moved down 11 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. Lawful development 28 decided 48 days
  2. Heritage and listed buildings 35 decided 56 days
  3. Advertising 22 decided 58 days
  4. Full applications 288 decided 59 days
  5. Trees 55 decided 60 days
  6. Conditions 79 decided 61 days

How these types compare nationally

What Renfrewshire decides

Year to September 2026

Renfrewshire issued 536 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 95% were approvals: 440 granted against 21 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 Renfrewshire?

The median planning application decided by Renfrewshire in the year to September 2026 took 59 days from submission to decision, 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 536 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 211 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Renfrewshire meet the eight week target?

47% of the 536 decisions Renfrewshire 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 154 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Renfrewshire faster or slower than average?

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

Is Renfrewshire getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 57 days, Renfrewshire has moved down 11 places in the table. Its median has risen by 2 days.

What proportion of applications does Renfrewshire approve?

95% of the clear-cut outcomes Renfrewshire issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 440 granted against 21 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

Renfrewshire planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 59 days from application to decision (3 days beyond the eight week target), across 536 decisions with both dates published. 47% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 75% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 154 days. Ranked 211 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 95% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.