Decision times · Wales
How long planning decisions take in Rhondda Cynon Taf
58 days. Ranked 199 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Rhondda Cynon Taf took 58 days from submission to decision — 2 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 675 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Rhondda Cynon Taf compares
Year to September 2026
Rhondda Cynon Taf takes longer than the country as a whole: 2 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 48%.
The average here is 76 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 133 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 324 48%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 208 31%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 143 21%
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 | 58 | 199 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 56 | 173 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 51 | 82 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 46 | 65 of 236 |
| September 2025 | 49 | 72 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 56 | 146 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 56 | 147 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 56 | 149 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 49 days, Rhondda Cynon Taf has moved down 127 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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Amendments 57 decided 28 days
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Lawful development 31 decided 39 days
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Outline 16 decided 45 days
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Advertising 16 decided 53 days
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Trees 26 decided 58 days
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Full applications 400 decided 60 days
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Conditions 104 decided 66 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 10 decided 105 days
What Rhondda Cynon Taf decides
Year to September 2026
Rhondda Cynon Taf issued 675 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 94% were approvals: 621 granted against 41 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 Rhondda Cynon Taf?
The median planning application decided by Rhondda Cynon Taf in the year to September 2026 took 58 days from submission to decision, 2 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 675 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 199 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Rhondda Cynon Taf meet the eight week target?
48% of the 675 decisions Rhondda Cynon Taf made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 79% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 133 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Rhondda Cynon Taf faster or slower than average?
Rhondda Cynon Taf is slower than average: its median of 58 days is 2 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is Rhondda Cynon Taf getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 49 days, Rhondda Cynon Taf has moved down 127 places in the table. Its median has risen by 9 days.
What proportion of applications does Rhondda Cynon Taf approve?
94% of the clear-cut outcomes Rhondda Cynon Taf issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 621 granted against 41 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
Click the text to select the whole citation.
Rhondda Cynon Taf planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 58 days from application to decision (2 days beyond the eight week target), across 675 decisions with both dates published. 48% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 79% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 133 days. Ranked 199 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 94% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.