Decision times · West Midlands
How long planning decisions take in Staffordshire Moorlands
77 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Staffordshire Moorlands took 77 days from submission to decision — 21 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 379 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 Staffordshire Moorlands compares
Year to December 2026
Staffordshire Moorlands takes longer than the country as a whole: 20 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 27%.
The average here is 114 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 219 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 104 27%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 123 32%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 152 40%
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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Other 24 decided 28 days
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Outline 26 decided 54 days
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Amendments 13 decided 55 days
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Lawful development 24 decided 74 days
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Householder 129 decided 77 days
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Conditions 42 decided 90 days
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Full applications 86 decided 93 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 23 decided 105 days
What Staffordshire Moorlands decides
Year to December 2026
Staffordshire Moorlands issued 379 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 79% were approvals: 275 granted against 74 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 Staffordshire Moorlands?
The median planning application decided by Staffordshire Moorlands in the year to December 2026 took 77 days from submission to decision, 21 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 379 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Staffordshire Moorlands meet the eight week target?
27% of the 379 decisions Staffordshire Moorlands made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 60% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 219 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Staffordshire Moorlands faster or slower than average?
Staffordshire Moorlands is slower than average: its median of 77 days is 20 days above the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Staffordshire Moorlands approve?
79% of the clear-cut outcomes Staffordshire Moorlands issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 275 granted against 74 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Staffordshire Moorlands planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 77 days from application to decision (21 days beyond the eight week target), across 379 decisions with both dates published. 27% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 60% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 219 days. 79% 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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<p>Data: <a href="https://planindex.co.uk/planning-decision-times/staffordshire-moorlands">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>