Decision times · West Midlands
How long planning decisions take in Stafford
132 days. Ranked 336 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Stafford took 132 days from submission to decision — 76 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 183 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Stafford compares
Year to September 2026
Stafford takes longer than the country as a whole: 76 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 11%.
The average here is 171 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 305 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 21 11%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 22 12%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 140 77%
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 | 132 | 336 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 113 | 322 of 328 |
| September 2025 | 97 | 308 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 97 | 297 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 98 | 301 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 98 | 305 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 97 days, Stafford has moved down 28 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 24 decided 57 days
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Householder 66 decided 122 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 14 decided 148 days
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Full applications 44 decided 189 days
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Advertising 12 decided 199 days
What Stafford decides
Year to September 2026
Stafford issued 183 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 78% were approvals: 132 granted against 37 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 Stafford?
The median planning application decided by Stafford in the year to September 2026 took 132 days from submission to decision, 76 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 183 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 336 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Stafford meet the eight week target?
11% of the 183 decisions Stafford made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 23% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 305 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Stafford faster or slower than average?
Stafford is slower than average: its median of 132 days is 76 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is Stafford getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 97 days, Stafford has moved down 28 places in the table. Its median has risen by 35 days.
What proportion of applications does Stafford approve?
78% of the clear-cut outcomes Stafford issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 132 granted against 37 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Stafford planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 132 days from application to decision (76 days beyond the eight week target), across 183 decisions with both dates published. 11% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 23% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 305 days. Ranked 336 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 78% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.