Decision times · North West
How long planning decisions take in Trafford
57 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Trafford took 57 days from submission to decision — 1 day beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 934 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 Trafford compares
Year to December 2026
Trafford sits exactly on the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 49%.
The average here is 67 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 110 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 457 49%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 331 35%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 146 16%
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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Trees 92 decided 42 days
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Prior approval 25 decided 44 days
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Amendments 69 decided 46 days
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Conditions 134 decided 52 days
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Lawful development 87 decided 55 days
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Householder 372 decided 61 days
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Advertising 38 decided 69 days
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Full applications 93 decided 97 days
What Trafford decides
Year to December 2026
Trafford issued 934 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 87% were approvals: 764 granted against 118 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 Trafford?
The median planning application decided by Trafford in the year to December 2026 took 57 days from submission to decision, 1 day beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 934 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Trafford meet the eight week target?
49% of the 934 decisions Trafford made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 84% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 110 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Trafford faster or slower than average?
Trafford sits exactly on the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Trafford approve?
87% of the clear-cut outcomes Trafford issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 764 granted against 118 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Trafford planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 57 days from application to decision (1 day beyond the eight week target), across 934 decisions with both dates published. 49% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 84% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 110 days. 87% 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/trafford">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>