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Decision times · South West

How long planning decisions take in Stroud

56 days. Ranked 136 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Stroud took 56 days from submission to decision — exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 1,387 decisions where the council published both dates.

56 days
Median decision exactly the eight week target
136 of 343
UK rank down 81 places in a year
53%
Within eight weeks 84% within thirteen
111 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Stroud compares

Year to September 2026

Stroud sits exactly on the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 53%.

The average here is 64 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 111 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 741 53%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 430 31%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 216 16%

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.

Stroud: median days from application to decision, by rolling twelve month window. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.
Twelve months to Median days UK rank
September 2026 56 136 of 343
June 2026 53 84 of 328
March 2026 50 64 of 243
December 2025 45 59 of 236
September 2025 48 55 of 324
June 2025 52 53 of 313
March 2025 52 54 of 315
December 2024 52 56 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 48 days, Stroud has moved down 81 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.

  1. Other 33 decided 21 days
  2. Trees 287 decided 31 days
  3. Amendments 97 decided 51 days
  4. Conditions 171 decided 51 days
  5. Lawful development 77 decided 53 days
  6. Advertising 11 decided 58 days
  7. Outline 38 decided 61 days
  8. Householder 363 decided 62 days
  9. Heritage and listed buildings 88 decided 78 days
  10. Full applications 193 decided 82 days

How these types compare nationally

What Stroud decides

Year to September 2026

Stroud issued 1,387 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 78% were approvals: 437 granted against 125 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 Stroud?

The median planning application decided by Stroud in the year to September 2026 took 56 days from submission to decision, exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 1,387 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 136 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Stroud meet the eight week target?

53% of the 1,387 decisions Stroud made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 84% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 111 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Stroud faster or slower than average?

Stroud sits exactly on the national median of 56 days.

Is Stroud getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 48 days, Stroud has moved down 81 places in the table. Its median has risen by 8 days.

What proportion of applications does Stroud approve?

78% of the clear-cut outcomes Stroud issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 437 granted against 125 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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Stroud planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 56 days from application to decision (exactly the eight week target), across 1,387 decisions with both dates published. 53% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 84% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 111 days. Ranked 136 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 78% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.