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Decision times · East Midlands

How long planning decisions take in West Northamptonshire

67 days. Ranked 267 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by West Northamptonshire took 67 days from submission to decision — 11 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 2,977 decisions where the council published both dates.

67 days
Median decision 11 days beyond the eight week target
267 of 343
UK rank down 35 places in a year
42%
Within eight weeks 67% within thirteen
169 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How West Northamptonshire compares

Year to September 2026

West Northamptonshire takes longer than the country as a whole: 11 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 42%.

The average here is 91 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 169 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 1,240 42%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 749 25%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 988 33%

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.

West Northamptonshire: 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 67 267 of 343
June 2026 64 262 of 328
March 2026 60 191 of 243
December 2025 51 109 of 236
September 2025 62 232 of 324
June 2025 63 216 of 313
March 2025 63 221 of 315
December 2024 63 228 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 62 days, West Northamptonshire has moved down 35 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. Prior approval 186 decided 41 days
  2. Trees 559 decided 42 days
  3. Outline 63 decided 45 days
  4. Amendments 194 decided 54 days
  5. Lawful development 208 decided 58 days
  6. Conditions 491 decided 61 days
  7. Householder 28 decided 66 days
  8. Advertising 65 decided 85 days
  9. Full applications 1,008 decided 101 days
  10. Heritage and listed buildings 139 decided 102 days

How these types compare nationally

What West Northamptonshire decides

Year to September 2026

West Northamptonshire issued 2,977 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 93% were approvals: 2,618 granted against 210 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 West Northamptonshire?

The median planning application decided by West Northamptonshire in the year to September 2026 took 67 days from submission to decision, 11 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 2,977 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 267 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does West Northamptonshire meet the eight week target?

42% of the 2,977 decisions West Northamptonshire made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 67% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 169 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is West Northamptonshire faster or slower than average?

West Northamptonshire is slower than average: its median of 67 days is 11 days above the national median of 56 days.

Is West Northamptonshire getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 62 days, West Northamptonshire has moved down 35 places in the table. Its median has risen by 5 days.

What proportion of applications does West Northamptonshire approve?

93% of the clear-cut outcomes West Northamptonshire issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 2,618 granted against 210 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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West Northamptonshire planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 67 days from application to decision (11 days beyond the eight week target), across 2,977 decisions with both dates published. 42% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 67% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 169 days. Ranked 267 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 93% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.