Decision times · East Midlands
How long planning decisions take in Rushcliffe
91 days. Ranked 318 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Rushcliffe took 91 days from submission to decision — 35 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 351 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Rushcliffe compares
Year to September 2026
Rushcliffe takes longer than the country as a whole: 35 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 22%.
The average here is 124 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 242 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 77 22%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 99 28%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 175 50%
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 | 91 | 318 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 78 | 299 of 328 |
| September 2025 | 64 | 251 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 64 | 226 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 64 | 232 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 64 | 238 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 64 days, Rushcliffe has moved down 67 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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Trees 11 decided 55 days
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Other 10 decided 76 days
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Amendments 37 decided 77 days
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Conditions 59 decided 84 days
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Lawful development 24 decided 87 days
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Full applications 178 decided 107 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 14 decided 113 days
What Rushcliffe decides
Year to September 2026
Rushcliffe issued 351 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 89% were approvals: 238 granted against 29 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 Rushcliffe?
The median planning application decided by Rushcliffe in the year to September 2026 took 91 days from submission to decision, 35 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 351 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 318 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Rushcliffe meet the eight week target?
22% of the 351 decisions Rushcliffe made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 50% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 242 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Rushcliffe faster or slower than average?
Rushcliffe is slower than average: its median of 91 days is 35 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is Rushcliffe getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 64 days, Rushcliffe has moved down 67 places in the table. Its median has risen by 27 days.
What proportion of applications does Rushcliffe approve?
89% of the clear-cut outcomes Rushcliffe issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 238 granted against 29 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Rushcliffe planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 91 days from application to decision (35 days beyond the eight week target), across 351 decisions with both dates published. 22% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 50% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 242 days. Ranked 318 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 89% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.