Decision times · West Midlands
How long planning decisions take in Rugby
67 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Rugby took 67 days from submission to decision — 11 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 622 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 Rugby compares
Year to December 2026
Rugby takes longer than the country as a whole: 10 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 41%.
The average here is 93 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 176 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 257 41%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 153 25%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 212 34%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 64 | 46 of 57 |
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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Prior approval 39 decided 27 days
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Trees 104 decided 43 days
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Lawful development 42 decided 65 days
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Advertising 18 decided 68 days
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Conditions 120 decided 69 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 18 decided 86 days
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Outline 124 decided 119 days
What Rugby decides
Year to December 2026
Rugby issued 622 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 94% were approvals: 523 granted against 36 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 Rugby?
The median planning application decided by Rugby in the year to December 2026 took 67 days from submission to decision, 11 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 622 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Rugby meet the eight week target?
41% of the 622 decisions Rugby made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 66% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 176 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Rugby faster or slower than average?
Rugby is slower than average: its median of 67 days is 10 days above the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Rugby approve?
94% of the clear-cut outcomes Rugby issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 523 granted against 36 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Rugby planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 67 days from application to decision (11 days beyond the eight week target), across 622 decisions with both dates published. 41% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 66% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 176 days. 94% 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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<iframe src="https://planindex.co.uk/embed/decision-times/rugby" title="Planning decision times in Rugby" width="100%" height="215" loading="lazy" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<p>Data: <a href="https://planindex.co.uk/planning-decision-times/rugby">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>