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How long does planning permission take in your council?

For an extension or another householder application, an English council has 8 weeks once your application is valid. In the year to March 2026, 63% of householder decisions in England came within those 8 weeks. Here are the figures for your own council, from the returns councils make to government.

How long does planning permission take?

In England a householder application has a statutory 8 weeks, and the council can ask you to agree more time in writing. Across 151,867 householder decisions from April 2025 to March 2026, 63% came within 8 weeks, 32% on an agreed extension, and 5% took longer without one. In Wales it was 57% within 8 weeks. Scotland reports two months: 76% of householder applications without a processing agreement made it, on average in 8.3 weeks (April 2024 to March 2025). Northern Ireland reports all local applications against 15 weeks, with a median of 19.6 weeks.

Check if you need planning permission
What these figures measureThe clock starts once the council has validated your application, so any time spent fixing a missing drawing or fee comes on top. An agreed extension of time is not a failure on your side: the council asks, you agree in writing, and from then on the decision counts as on time if it meets the new date. The English returns do not publish how long those extended cases actually took, so I show them as their own group rather than guess.

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England: 310 planning authorities

Householder applications decided from April 2025 to March 2026, by local planning authority, in alphabetical order within each region. Each row splits all decisions into three groups that add up to about 100 (rounded).

East Midlands

Planning authorityDecisionsWithin 8 weeksAgreed extensionOver 8 weeks, no extension
Amber Valley36275%24%0%
Ashfield19274%19%7%
Bassetlaw23625%71%4%
Blaby29850%44%6%
Bolsover13077%23%0%
Boston8170%26%4%
Broxtowe29578%21%1%
Charnwood49572%23%4%
Chesterfield16140%44%16%
Derby52145%50%4%
Derbyshire Dales18970%20%11%
East Lindsey28260%34%5%
Erewash23162%20%18%
Gedling26062%32%6%
Harborough43951%35%14%
High Peak18729%66%5%
Hinckley and Bosworth28237%51%12%
Leicester54651%45%4%
Lincoln11579%13%8%
Mansfield15365%33%3%
Melton11911%71%18%
Newark and Sherwood34150%44%6%
North East Derbyshire30462%36%3%
North Kesteven31071%28%1%
North Northamptonshire52735%52%13%
North West Leicestershire27355%42%4%
Nottingham43245%29%25%
Oadby and Wigston19072%26%2%
Rushcliffe47651%42%6%
Rutland26974%26%0%
South Derbyshire27361%33%6%
South Holland20862%38%0%
South Kesteven45943%51%5%
West Lindsey26072%26%2%
West Northamptonshire90318%77%5%

East of England

Planning authorityDecisionsWithin 8 weeksAgreed extensionOver 8 weeks, no extension
Babergh35975%23%1%
Basildon41165%23%12%
Bedford53456%39%4%
Braintree43178%19%3%
Breckland34281%15%4%
Brentwood43235%64%1%
Broadland47068%28%4%
Broxbourne28053%41%6%
Cambridge47686%11%3%
Castle Point28096%4%0%
Central Bedfordshire84476%23%1%
Chelmsford77784%10%7%
Colchester57979%19%2%
Dacorum69578%6%15%
East Cambridgeshire35476%23%1%
East Hertfordshire68073%24%3%
East Suffolk1,00860%31%9%
Epping Forest77771%25%3%
Fenland17677%22%2%
Great Yarmouth15369%28%3%
Harlow14967%26%7%
Hertsmere46649%46%5%
Huntingdonshire51255%43%3%
Ipswich17276%24%0%
King’s Lynn and West Norfolk52187%12%2%
Luton43860%40%0%
Maldon20956%40%4%
Mid Suffolk37177%23%0%
North Hertfordshire66569%23%8%
North Norfolk49461%34%4%
Norwich18776%17%7%
Peterborough32267%22%11%
Rochford29853%31%16%
South Cambridgeshire78784%11%5%
South Norfolk49067%28%5%
Southend-on-Sea51364%36%0%
St Albans97529%65%6%
Stevenage13381%10%9%
Tendring41880%13%7%
Three Rivers61382%17%1%
Thurrock38384%15%1%
Uttlesford53582%13%5%
Watford32780%16%5%
Welwyn Hatfield43753%43%3%
West Suffolk48956%32%13%

London

Planning authorityDecisionsWithin 8 weeksAgreed extensionOver 8 weeks, no extension
Barking and Dagenham40693%7%0%
Barnet1,43979%18%3%
Bexley93989%10%1%
Brent92473%25%2%
Bromley1,53866%26%8%
Camden40449%43%8%
City of London1Too fewToo fewToo few
Croydon80562%34%3%
Ealing99341%58%1%
Enfield99990%1%9%
Greenwich64775%21%5%
Hackney42153%41%6%
Hammersmith and Fulham56033%63%4%
Haringey70255%40%5%
Harrow89471%24%4%
Havering1,01956%42%2%
Hillingdon1,18458%39%3%
Hounslow70456%43%2%
Islington38943%55%2%
Kensington and Chelsea57457%41%2%
Kingston upon Thames76681%13%6%
Lambeth61062%35%3%
Lewisham63769%27%4%
Merton76957%35%8%
Newham39559%38%3%
Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation5Too fewToo fewToo few
Redbridge1,05069%28%3%
Richmond upon Thames1,36269%30%1%
Southwark61278%20%2%
Sutton63591%6%3%
Tower Hamlets20356%40%4%
Waltham Forest78975%15%10%
Wandsworth97062%32%5%
Westminster41844%45%11%

National Parks

Planning authorityDecisionsWithin 8 weeksAgreed extensionOver 8 weeks, no extension
Dartmoor National Park13065%32%4%
Exmoor National Park5547%53%0%
Lake District National Park30466%24%10%
New Forest National Park31345%42%12%
North York Moors National Park14174%16%9%
Northumberland National Park12Too fewToo fewToo few
Peak District National Park22475%20%5%
South Downs National Park81839%55%6%
The Broads Authority4567%33%0%
Yorkshire Dales National Park14861%35%4%

North East

Planning authorityDecisionsWithin 8 weeksAgreed extensionOver 8 weeks, no extension
County Durham74359%37%4%
Darlington19467%30%3%
Gateshead27026%67%8%
Hartlepool11752%48%0%
Hartlepool Development Corporation0Too fewToo fewToo few
Middlesbrough17538%58%4%
Middlesbrough Development Corporation0Too fewToo fewToo few
Newcastle upon Tyne39656%37%7%
North Tyneside39081%18%1%
Northumberland84662%35%3%
Redcar and Cleveland19562%26%12%
South Tyneside22964%34%2%
Stockton-on-Tees35861%34%4%
Sunderland26473%26%1%

North West

Planning authorityDecisionsWithin 8 weeksAgreed extensionOver 8 weeks, no extension
Blackburn with Darwen27473%27%0%
Blackpool13372%26%2%
Bolton55851%42%6%
Burnley11971%29%0%
Bury45276%24%0%
Cheshire East1,41839%57%4%
Cheshire West and Chester1,04640%56%4%
Chorley27878%22%0%
Cumberland42650%35%15%
Fylde23160%39%1%
Halton13977%23%0%
Hyndburn10562%35%3%
Knowsley16760%36%4%
Lancaster30374%24%2%
Liverpool58062%33%5%
Manchester73065%32%3%
Oldham46244%52%4%
Pendle18764%31%5%
Preston26671%29%1%
Ribble Valley24355%43%2%
Rochdale32154%40%6%
Rossendale9127%71%1%
Salford37756%44%0%
Sefton58971%28%1%
South Ribble20575%22%3%
St. Helens28580%20%0%
Stockport98679%20%1%
Tameside26477%23%1%
Trafford1,00871%25%4%
Warrington53776%21%4%
West Lancashire31041%51%8%
Westmorland and Furness50851%44%5%
Wigan38954%45%1%
Wirral58457%41%2%
Wyre26538%59%3%

South East

Planning authorityDecisionsWithin 8 weeksAgreed extensionOver 8 weeks, no extension
Adur21060%37%2%
Arun45399%1%0%
Ashford45375%23%2%
Basingstoke and Deane61659%35%7%
Bracknell Forest32838%55%6%
Brighton and Hove72050%47%2%
Buckinghamshire2,85234%51%14%
Canterbury58043%36%21%
Cherwell54147%42%11%
Chichester47093%7%0%
Crawley12226%72%2%
Dartford38773%23%4%
Dover37983%13%4%
East Hampshire32724%69%7%
Eastbourne13662%24%15%
Eastleigh38373%22%5%
Ebbsfleet Development Corporation19Too fewToo fewToo few
Elmbridge90457%38%6%
Epsom and Ewell43090%7%3%
Fareham39489%10%0%
Folkestone and Hythe34596%4%0%
Gosport11776%20%4%
Gravesham40072%25%3%
Guildford82831%61%8%
Hart44571%25%3%
Hastings10967%32%1%
Havant28631%55%14%
Horsham67972%27%1%
Isle of Wight37392%6%2%
Lewes23969%18%13%
Maidstone53681%18%2%
Medway54094%6%1%
Mid Sussex69764%35%1%
Milton Keynes61278%19%3%
Mole Valley53450%33%17%
New Forest53180%19%2%
Oxford50243%54%3%
Portsmouth22860%37%3%
Reading28437%49%14%
Reigate and Banstead62976%20%4%
Rother36525%70%5%
Runnymede39472%27%1%
Rushmoor18686%13%1%
Sevenoaks64872%24%4%
Slough41742%40%18%
South Oxfordshire87174%23%3%
Southampton37663%34%3%
Spelthorne40070%29%1%
Surrey Heath43568%22%10%
Swale32937%60%3%
Tandridge42351%46%3%
Test Valley53376%19%4%
Thanet31562%32%6%
Tonbridge and Malling51549%45%6%
Tunbridge Wells62084%15%1%
Vale of White Horse56357%41%2%
Waverley88466%32%2%
Wealden72169%30%1%
West Berkshire60657%37%6%
West Oxfordshire61675%23%1%
Winchester54055%41%4%
Windsor and Maidenhead97075%21%5%
Woking56054%36%10%
Wokingham82572%28%1%
Worthing30253%42%5%

South West

Planning authorityDecisionsWithin 8 weeksAgreed extensionOver 8 weeks, no extension
Bath and North East Somerset80850%41%9%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole1,20644%51%5%
Bristol, City of86371%24%6%
Cheltenham57076%21%2%
Cornwall1,86376%22%2%
Cotswold59253%42%4%
Dorset1,26178%20%2%
East Devon58772%10%18%
Exeter26554%37%9%
Forest of Dean27764%34%2%
Gloucester24760%36%4%
Isles of Scilly2343%57%0%
Mid Devon20975%25%0%
North Devon30167%32%1%
North Somerset62073%19%8%
Plymouth34274%24%2%
Somerset1,42274%22%3%
South Gloucestershire77161%31%8%
South Hams47973%23%4%
Stroud53773%26%0%
Swindon43692%3%5%
Teignbridge32580%19%1%
Tewkesbury38057%38%5%
Torbay26637%54%9%
Torridge16778%20%1%
West Devon13062%38%0%
Wiltshire1,77953%45%1%

West Midlands

Planning authorityDecisionsWithin 8 weeksAgreed extensionOver 8 weeks, no extension
Birmingham2,15248%39%13%
Bromsgrove28863%29%9%
Cannock Chase12482%16%2%
Coventry63591%8%0%
Dudley48870%27%3%
East Staffordshire31121%65%14%
Herefordshire, County of52446%47%7%
Lichfield37097%2%1%
Malvern Hills33379%19%2%
Newcastle-under-Lyme21968%31%2%
North Warwickshire17448%44%8%
Nuneaton and Bedworth18062%38%1%
Redditch8676%13%12%
Rugby25138%49%13%
Sandwell55469%30%1%
Shropshire93678%18%4%
Solihull81865%32%3%
South Staffordshire36061%39%1%
Stafford23326%50%24%
Staffordshire Moorlands18736%61%3%
Stoke-on-Trent18528%71%1%
Stratford-on-Avon65167%29%5%
Tamworth9153%46%1%
Telford and Wrekin27796%4%0%
Walsall48652%46%2%
Warwick51947%51%2%
Wolverhampton47373%27%0%
Worcester17476%23%1%
Wychavon44088%11%2%
Wyre Forest20368%28%4%

Yorkshire and the Humber

Planning authorityDecisionsWithin 8 weeksAgreed extensionOver 8 weeks, no extension
Barnsley32145%31%24%
Bradford1,31258%35%7%
Calderdale38458%36%6%
Doncaster43283%15%3%
East Riding of Yorkshire83095%5%0%
Kingston upon Hull, City of11551%44%4%
Kirklees93246%51%3%
Leeds2,13673%23%4%
North East Lincolnshire19664%36%0%
North Lincolnshire33870%27%3%
North Yorkshire2,08664%30%7%
Rotherham40272%28%0%
Sheffield99061%34%5%
Wakefield56753%41%6%
York61964%32%4%

Wales: 24 planning authorities

Householder applications decided from April 2025 to March 2026. Wales counts an agreed extension among the cases over 8 weeks; I split them out so the three groups match England.

Planning authorityDecisionsWithin 8 weeksAgreed extensionOver 8 weeks, no extension
Blaenau Gwent7033%67%0%
Brecon Beacons11181%19%0%
Bridgend26728%61%10%
Caerphilly26083%17%0%
Cardiff69543%57%0%
Carmarthenshire29356%41%3%
Ceredigion15160%30%11%
Conwy20951%36%12%
Flintshire27283%16%1%
Gwynedd29134%59%6%
Isle of Anglesey17853%47%0%
Merthyr Tydfil8877%23%0%
Monmouthshire28359%40%1%
Neath Port Talbot19363%36%1%
Newport24653%45%2%
Pembrokeshire21476%24%0%
Pembrokeshire Coast16347%50%4%
Powys21851%49%0%
Rhondda Cynon Taff35083%17%1%
Snowdonia13440%39%22%
Swansea53767%32%1%
Torfaen14172%27%1%
Vale of Glamorgan54944%54%2%
Wrexham20358%38%4%

Scotland: 32 planning authorities

Householder applications decided from April 2024 to March 2025, the latest full year the Scottish Government has published. The percentage and the average cover applications without a processing agreement.

Planning authorityDecisionsWithin 2 monthsAverage weeksProcessing agreement
Aberdeen City27773%8.726%
Aberdeenshire44893%7.223%
Angus17594%6.133%
Argyll and Bute26459%16.211%
Clackmannanshire10384%7.30%
Dumfries and Galloway32381%7.40%
Dundee City14583%7.60%
East Ayrshire10082%8.21%
East Dunbartonshire37180%9.10%
East Lothian41698%6.81%
East Renfrewshire36139%10.10%
City of Edinburgh1,10473%7.98%
Falkirk16471%7.77%
Fife69787%7.229%
Glasgow City54831%11.35%
Highland52975%9.21%
Inverclyde10194%70%
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park5042%114%
Midlothian21185%8.329%
Moray17175%7.912%
North Ayrshire18796%5.90%
North Lanarkshire28993%5.519%
Orkney Islands5961%8.50%
Perth and Kinross40798%6.311%
Renfrewshire20560%10.40%
Scottish Borders29793%6.236%
Shetland Islands3879%7.70%
South Ayrshire25662%8.30%
South Lanarkshire50773%8.32%
Stirling23789%7.414%
West Dunbartonshire6177%8.20%
West Lothian21098%7.80%

Northern Ireland: 11 councils

Northern Ireland does not publish householder applications on their own per council. These are all local applications, which the department describes as mostly residential and minor commercial applications, from April 2025 to March 2026. The average is a median, and the target is 15 weeks: 3 of the 11 councils stayed within it.

Planning authorityDecisionsMedian weeksWithin 15 weeks
Antrim & Newtownabbey5611359%
Ards & North Down72816.347%
Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon82521.832%
Belfast1,14018.140%
Causeway Coast & Glens85918.244%
Derry City & Strabane49425.236%
Fermanagh & Omagh7857.674%
Lisburn & Castlereagh68129.429%
Mid & East Antrim5317.679%
Mid Ulster97422.434%
Newry, Mourne & Down1,07745.85%

Who is missing, and why

Where an authority decided fewer than 20 householder applications in the period, the table says so instead of showing a percentage: City of London, Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, Hartlepool Development Corporation, Middlesbrough Development Corporation, Northumberland National Park, Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation.

Denbighshire (Wales). Denbighshire sent no figures for this period; the Welsh table marks every quarter with a dash.

Cairngorms National Park (Scotland). Cairngorms National Park decided no householder applications itself in this period: the national park only takes over applications it calls in from the councils around it.

Na h-Eileanan Siar (Scotland). Na h-Eileanan Siar shows exactly the same householder figures for 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 in the Scottish table. I cannot check which year they belong to, so I leave them out.

Where the figures come from

England. MHCLG, Live tables on planning application statistics, open data table PS2 (last four quarters), covering April 2025 to March 2026, published 19 June 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Wales. Welsh Government, Development management quarterly survey (January to March 2026), sheet Data, covering April 2025 to March 2026, published 28 July 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Scotland. Scottish Government, Planning Applications Statistics 2024/25 annual tables, Table 6 (householder), covering April 2024 to March 2025, published 5 December 2025. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Northern Ireland. Department for Infrastructure, Northern Ireland planning statistics 2025/26 annual tables, Table 4.2.6 (local applications), covering April 2025 to March 2026, published 26 August 2026. Open Government Licence v3.0.

I rebuild the tables from the published files with a script, so no figure on this page is typed by hand. England covers 310 planning authorities, including national parks and development corporations, because that is how the government counts them.

Where to go next

Frequently asked questions

Is 8 weeks a promise?

No. It is the statutory period in England for a householder application, counted from validation, and the council can ask you to agree a longer period in writing. In April 2025 to March 2026, 32% of English householder decisions came on such an agreement.

What can I do if the council goes past the deadline?

Government guidance for England says that when a valid application has not been decided within the statutory period, or a longer period you agreed in writing, you have a right to appeal to the Secretary of State against non-determination.

Why are the Scottish figures a year older?

The Scottish Government publishes a full year of figures per planning authority once a year. The latest full year is April 2024 to March 2025, published on 5 December 2025. I use the full year rather than the newer half year, because half a year of a small council is too few applications to say much.