Decision times · North West
How long planning decisions take in South Ribble
75 days. Ranked 290 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by South Ribble took 75 days from submission to decision — 19 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 99 decisions where the council published both dates.
How South Ribble compares
Year to September 2026
South Ribble takes longer than the country as a whole: 19 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 33%.
The average here is 94 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 150 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 33 33%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 34 34%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 32 32%
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 | 75 | 290 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 62 | 246 of 328 |
| September 2025 | 50 | 84 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 49 | 31 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 49 | 29 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 50 | 42 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 50 days, South Ribble has moved down 206 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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Lawful development 11 decided 44 days
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Householder 35 decided 62 days
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Full applications 24 decided 100 days
What South Ribble decides
Year to September 2026
South Ribble issued 99 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 95% were approvals: 80 granted against 4 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 South Ribble?
The median planning application decided by South Ribble in the year to September 2026 took 75 days from submission to decision, 19 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 99 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 290 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does South Ribble meet the eight week target?
33% of the 99 decisions South Ribble made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 68% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 150 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is South Ribble faster or slower than average?
South Ribble is slower than average: its median of 75 days is 19 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is South Ribble getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 50 days, South Ribble has moved down 206 places in the table. Its median has risen by 25 days.
What proportion of applications does South Ribble approve?
95% of the clear-cut outcomes South Ribble issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 80 granted against 4 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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South Ribble planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 75 days from application to decision (19 days beyond the eight week target), across 99 decisions with both dates published. 33% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 68% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 150 days. Ranked 290 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 95% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.