How long does planning permission take?
Approval odds and waiting times are local facts, not national ones. The same extension can sail through one council in a month and sit for half a year in the next, so check your own council's real record before you plan your timeline. We hold 7,254 decisions published over the last 24 months across 4 planning authorities here. The median application was decided in 59 days, and 49% were decided within 8 weeks of the date the register records receiving them. 85% of decided applications were approved. Data as of 2026-07-17.
What is your council's real record?
Start typing a council or planning authority name. Every figure comes from the decisions published on its planning register over the last 24 months.
Type at least two letters to find your council.
The official decision periods
The local planning authority must generally decide a planning application within 8 weeks of receiving it, but if it needs more information or the decision is appealed, it may take much longer.
Citizens Information: Planning permission (opens in new tab)What each number means
Decisions
Approved plus refused decisions published on the council's planning register in the period shown. It counts what the register we read published, which can be less than everything the council handled.
Approval rate
The share of decided applications that were approved. Withdrawn applications sit outside this number: withdrawing is the applicant's act, not the council's decision.
Median decision time
The middle application, measured in days from the date the register says the council received it to the date it decided it. Half were faster, half slower. Councils and applicants can lawfully agree more time, so elapsed days beyond a target are not automatically a breach of it.
Decided within 8 weeks
The share of dated decisions made within 56 days of the received date on the register. 8 weeks is the decision period most standard applications start with; agreed extensions can lawfully move it.
Withdrawn
Applications the applicant withdrew before a decision. Shown separately and never counted in the approval rate.
Planning a project?
Check whether you need planning permission at all, see approval odds for your kind of project, or find architects with a real approval track record.
Common questions
How long does planning permission take?
Across the 7,254 decisions published on the planning registers we track here over the last 24 months, The median application was decided in 59 days, and 49% were decided within 8 weeks of the date the register records receiving them. Your own council can be much faster or much slower, which is what this tool shows.
What share of planning applications get approved?
85% of the decided applications we hold here were approved (6,192 of 7,254). That blends every application type, from tree works to full applications, so check the type table for the work you have in mind. Withdrawn applications sit outside these numbers.
Is my council slower than others?
The register data shows real spread between authorities. Look yours up above, or open its full page for nearby comparisons. Remember the honest caveat: councils and applicants can lawfully agree extensions of time, so elapsed days beyond a target are not automatically a breach of it.
Where do these numbers come from?
These figures are computed from the planning register entries we hold for each council, refreshed continuously from the public registers. They describe published register data, not the council's official performance statistics, and coverage per council can differ from the register's own totals. Always confirm requirements for your own project with your council before applying. Data as of 2026-07-17.
These figures are computed from the planning register entries we hold for each council, refreshed continuously from the public registers. They describe published register data, not the council's official performance statistics, and coverage per council can differ from the register's own totals. Always confirm requirements for your own project with your council before applying.
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