A ready-to-publish local data pack on planning decision times in Merthyr Tydfil. Everything on this page is free to use with attribution to PlanningLens.
Figures from the 9 July 2026 data export·
7.4 wks
Average decision time, 2025
15th
fastest of 146 ranked
16%
took over 8 weeks
71
Decisions analysed
Ready-to-run copy
Three paragraphs written to be lifted as they stand: the local figures, the national context, and a quote. Copy them individually or take the whole story from the button above.
Local figures
Householder planning applications in Merthyr Tydfil took an average of 7.4 weeks to decide in 2025, according to analysis of council planning records by the planning data firm PlanningLens. That makes it the 15th fastest of the 146 British councils with enough decisions to rank, and one of only 26 to decide inside the statutory eight weeks on average. The figures cover 71 decided applications.
National context
Across Britain, the average planning application takes 10.7 weeks from validation to decision, according to PlanningLens analysis of 2,208,842 decided applications across 245 councils in England, Scotland and Wales, and 90% of councils (221 of 245) take longer than eight weeks on average. Official figures look healthier because an application still counts as decided on time if the council persuades the applicant to sign an extension of time agreement first. The full analysis, with league tables for every council and project type, is free at planninglens.co.uk/how-long-does-planning-permission-take.html.
Quote
“Most of Britain runs past the statutory eight weeks, so a council deciding in 7.4 weeks deserves to be noticed. The figures are not ours: they come from Merthyr Tydfil’s own planning portal, application by application. We have simply added them up,” said Mark Broome, founder of PlanningLens.
May be used as supplied.
Notes for editors
How these figures are produced
PlanningLens measures validation date to decision date, per application, from each council’s own planning portal. Named local figures cover householder applications (extensions, lofts and similar) decided in 2025; councils are ranked only where at least 50 such decisions were available. National context figures cover all application types. Full method: planninglens.co.uk/how-long-does-planning-permission-take.html#method.
Using this pack
Everything on this page is free to publish with attribution to PlanningLens and a link to the full analysis. Text and data are licensed CC BY 4.0. The quote from Mark Broome may be used as supplied.
Interviews, custom data cuts or checks: hello@planninglens.co.uk. Figures from the 9 July 2026 data export; the live analysis regenerates with every data update.
Merthyr Tydfil decides planning applications inside the statutory eight weeks, averaging 7.4
Householder planning applications in Merthyr Tydfil took an average of 7.4 weeks to decide in 2025, according to analysis of council planning records by the planning data firm PlanningLens. That makes it the 15th fastest of the 146 British councils with enough decisions to rank, and one of only 26 to decide inside the statutory eight weeks on average. The figures cover 71 decided applications.
Across Britain, the average planning application takes 10.7 weeks from validation to decision, according to PlanningLens analysis of 2,208,842 decided applications across 245 councils in England, Scotland and Wales, and 90% of councils (221 of 245) take longer than eight weeks on average. Official figures look healthier because an application still counts as decided on time if the council persuades the applicant to sign an extension of time agreement first. The full analysis, with league tables for every council and project type, is free at planninglens.co.uk/how-long-does-planning-permission-take.html.
“Most of Britain runs past the statutory eight weeks, so a council deciding in 7.4 weeks deserves to be noticed. The figures are not ours: they come from Merthyr Tydfil’s own planning portal, application by application. We have simply added them up,” said Mark Broome, founder of PlanningLens.