Everyone quotes the 8-week statutory target. But what actually happens when your application lands on a planning officer's desk?
We measured the time between application received and decision issued across 51 UK councils — using real dates from over 700,000 individual planning applications. The results show a system that varies wildly from council to council.
The fastest council in our dataset decides applications in a median of 39 days — nearly three weeks inside the statutory target. The slowest takes a median of 101 days — almost six weeks beyond it. That's not a rounding error. It's a fundamentally different experience of the planning system depending on where you live.
What are the planning approval patterns in your area?
Check your postcode — free, instant. See approval rates and comparable decisions near your property.
Check Your Postcode →The Fastest Councils
These councils get decisions out fastest. Median times are the most reliable measure — they're not skewed by the occasional application that sits in limbo for a year.
| Council | Median | Average | Decisions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Redbridge | 39 days | 44 days | 20,189 |
| Richmond | 50 days | 60 days | 31,748 |
| Sutton | 52 days | 62 days | 16,432 |
| Barking & Dagenham | 52 days | 66 days | 4,987 |
| New Forest | 54 days | 67 days | 7,426 |
| Barnet | 54 days | 69 days | 53,535 |
| Hounslow | 54 days | 71 days | 81,983 |
| Enfield | 54 days | 72 days | 26,637 |
| Kensington & Chelsea | 55 days | 61 days | 34,545 |
| Lewisham | 56 days | 67 days | 21,106 |
Redbridge stands out dramatically — a median of just 39 days, across over 20,000 decisions. That's not a small sample or a quirk. Richmond, Sutton, and Barking also consistently beat the 8-week target.
Notice the gap between median and average in many councils. Hounslow's median is 54 days but its average is 71 — meaning a minority of applications take far longer and drag the average up. This is why median is the better measure for setting your expectations.
See what gets approved in your council →
The Slowest Councils
| Council | Median | Average | Decisions |
|---|---|---|---|
| LLDC | 101 days | 172 days | 3,013 |
| Camden | 91 days | 139 days | 17,916 |
| City of London | 77 days | 123 days | 8,570 |
| Flintshire | 67 days | 116 days | 6,358 |
| Pembrokeshire Coast NP | 64 days | 99 days | 3,931 |
| Hammersmith & Fulham | 63 days | 127 days | 18,190 |
| Yorkshire Dales NP | 57 days | 113 days | 4,519 |
| Exmoor NP | 57 days | 99 days | 1,942 |
| Wandsworth | 56 days | 95 days | 17,957 |
| Slough | 57 days | 98 days | 8,223 |
LLDC (the London Legacy Development Corporation, covering the Olympic Park area) is an outlier — a median of 101 days and an average of 172. Camden takes a median of 91 days, more than double the fastest councils.
National parks appear in the slow list too. Yorkshire Dales, Exmoor, and Pembrokeshire Coast all have longer averages, likely reflecting the additional scrutiny that comes with designated landscape areas.
The 8-Week Myth
The statutory target for householder planning applications is 8 weeks — 56 days. In theory, your council should decide within that window. In practice, many councils routinely exceed it.
What our data shows is that the median decision time across most councils lands between 52 and 57 days. That means roughly half of applications just about hit the target, and roughly half exceed it. The "8 weeks" figure is more of a central tendency than a guarantee.
But the average tells a different story. Because a significant minority of applications take 3, 4, even 6+ months, the average is pulled well above the median in almost every council. If your application is one of the ones that hits a snag — a request for amendments, a committee referral, a neighbour objection that triggers additional assessment — you could be waiting far longer than 8 weeks.
Speed vs Approval Rate: They Don't Correlate
One of the more interesting patterns in the data is that fast doesn't mean easy, and slow doesn't mean tough.
City of London approves 98.8% of applications — one of the highest rates in the country. But it takes a median of 77 days to get there. Conversely, Brent has one of the lowest approval rates in London at 76.0%, but decides in a median of 56 days.
A slow council isn't necessarily going to refuse you. It just means you'll wait longer for the answer — whether that answer is yes or no.
Check the approval rate in your council →
What Makes Some Councils Faster
Several factors influence how quickly a council processes applications. Councils with larger, better-resourced planning departments can handle higher volumes without backlogs. Councils with clearer local policies and design guides give officers more confidence to make delegated decisions quickly. And councils where most applications are straightforward householder proposals — rear extensions, loft conversions — tend to move faster than those handling complex mixed-use or conservation area applications.
Redbridge's speed is notable partly because it handles a high volume of relatively standard residential applications in an area without large conservation areas. Camden's slowness partly reflects the complexity of its caseload — heritage constraints, basement applications, and high-density proposals that require more assessment.
What This Means for You
If you're planning a project, the speed data helps you set realistic timelines. Don't assume 8 weeks. Look at your council's actual track record.
If your council is in the faster group, you can plan your build schedule with more confidence. If it's in the slower group, build in extra buffer — and consider whether pre-application advice could speed things up by resolving issues before formal submission.
Either way, the single best thing you can do before applying is understand what your council actually approves. A well-designed application that aligns with local precedent is more likely to sail through quickly than one that triggers requests for amendments.
Planning outcomes depend on what's already been approved near your property.
Our free postcode check shows approval rates and comparable nearby decisions — in seconds.
Check Your Postcode →