Decision times · North West
How long planning decisions take in Ribble Valley
64 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Ribble Valley took 64 days from submission to decision — 8 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 421 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 Ribble Valley compares
Year to December 2026
Ribble Valley takes longer than the country as a whole: 7 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 42%.
The average here is 86 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.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 175 42%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 136 32%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 110 26%
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 38 decided 25 days
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Other 32 decided 27 days
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Prior approval 11 decided 45 days
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Amendments 32 decided 54 days
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Conditions 59 decided 57 days
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Lawful development 32 decided 57 days
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Full applications 177 decided 85 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 21 decided 87 days
What Ribble Valley decides
Year to December 2026
Ribble Valley issued 421 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 84% were approvals: 334 granted against 63 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 Ribble Valley?
The median planning application decided by Ribble Valley in the year to December 2026 took 64 days from submission to decision, 8 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 421 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Ribble Valley meet the eight week target?
42% of the 421 decisions Ribble Valley made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 74% 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 Ribble Valley faster or slower than average?
Ribble Valley is slower than average: its median of 64 days is 7 days above the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Ribble Valley approve?
84% of the clear-cut outcomes Ribble Valley issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 334 granted against 63 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Ribble Valley planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 64 days from application to decision (8 days beyond the eight week target), across 421 decisions with both dates published. 42% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 74% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 154 days. 84% 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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<script src="https://planindex.co.uk/embed/decision-times.js" data-council="ribble-valley" defer></script>If your CMS strips scripts, use the frame directly:
<iframe src="https://planindex.co.uk/embed/decision-times/ribble-valley" title="Planning decision times in Ribble Valley" width="100%" height="215" loading="lazy" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<p>Data: <a href="https://planindex.co.uk/planning-decision-times/ribble-valley">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>