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PlanningLens Press·Local data packs·July 2026
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Press packs: local planning decision times for 150 UK councils

One pack per ranked council: a local headline, three ready-to-run paragraphs, a quote, per-type figures and the method behind them. Everything is free to publish with attribution to PlanningLens and a link. Figures come from each council’s own planning portal, and every pack regenerates with the data.

Figures from the 9 July 2026 data export·Contact: hello@planninglens.co.uk
18.9 wks
Melton: slowest in Britain
3.7 wks
Fareham: fastest in Britain
+5.1 wks
Guildford: biggest slowdown since 2020
-7.3 wks
Camden: most improved since 2020
Councils are ranked on householder planning applications decided in 2025, measured validation date to decision date, with at least 50 decisions required to be named. The full national analysis, league tables and method live on the decision-times page.

No council matches that search. Packs exist only where at least 50 householder decisions were available for 2025; if your patch is missing, that is why. For a custom cut on any council, email hello@planninglens.co.uk.

East Midlands

CouncilAverage, 2025Rank
Melton18.9 wks1st slowest of 146
Bassetlaw13.3 wks3rd slowest of 146
Blaby12.1 wks10th slowest of 146
Gedling11.3 wks21st slowest of 146
Hinckley & Bosworth11.3 wks22nd slowest of 146
Oadby & Wigston11.1 wks26th slowest of 146
Nottingham10.9 wks27th slowest of 146
Rushcliffe10.9 wks29th slowest of 146
South Kesteven10.3 wks43rd slowest of 146
Chesterfield10.2 wks46th slowest of 146
Harborough9.7 wks58th slowest of 146
North West Leicestershire9.6 wks60th slowest of 146
North East Derbyshire9.5 wks64th slowest of 146
Newark & Sherwood9.4 wks74th slowest of 146
Bolsover8.9 wks91st slowest of 146
Mansfield8.7 wks99th slowest of 146
Lincoln8.2 wks113th slowest of 146
Leicester7.8 wks26th fastest of 146

East of England

CouncilAverage, 2025Rank
Babergh Mid Suffolk11.8 wks13th slowest of 146
Brentwood10.4 wks39th slowest of 146
Broadland10.3 wks42nd slowest of 146
West Suffolk10.3 wks44th slowest of 146
Maldon9.6 wks59th slowest of 146
South Norfolk9.2 wks83rd slowest of 146
Southend-on-Sea9.1 wks87th slowest of 146
Fenland9.1 wks88th slowest of 146
Basildon8.8 wks97th slowest of 146
Great Yarmouth8.8 wks98th slowest of 146
East Cambridgeshire8.6 wks103rd slowest of 146
Norwich8.3 wks109th slowest of 146
Harlow8.1 wks115th slowest of 146
Thurrock8.0 wks29th fastest of 146
East Hertfordshire7.8 wks25th fastest of 146
North Hertfordshire7.7 wks20th fastest of 146
Watford7.0 wks10th fastest of 146

London

CouncilAverage, 2025Rank
Camden12.0 wks12th slowest of 146
Hackney11.4 wks19th slowest of 146
Islington11.3 wks23rd slowest of 146
Tower Hamlets10.7 wks31st slowest of 146
Wandsworth10.4 wks37th slowest of 146
Kensington & Chelsea10.1 wks50th slowest of 146
Bromley9.6 wks62nd slowest of 146
Haringey9.4 wks73rd slowest of 146
Havering8.9 wks92nd slowest of 146
Hounslow8.6 wks101st slowest of 146
Hillingdon8.4 wks106th slowest of 146
Merton8.3 wks108th slowest of 146
Barnet7.4 wks14th fastest of 146
Richmond7.2 wks11th fastest of 146
Redbridge5.7 wks2nd fastest of 146

North East

CouncilAverage, 2025Rank
Gateshead12.2 wks9th slowest of 146
Redcar and Cleveland11.4 wks20th slowest of 146
County Durham10.9 wks28th slowest of 146
Stockton-on-Tees9.6 wks61st slowest of 146
Sunderland9.5 wks66th slowest of 146
North Tyneside7.8 wks23rd fastest of 146

North West

CouncilAverage, 2025Rank
Wyre13.1 wks6th slowest of 146
Oldham11.6 wks15th slowest of 146
West Lancashire11.1 wks25th slowest of 146
Rossendale9.7 wks56th slowest of 146
Manchester9.7 wks57th slowest of 146
Westmorland and Furness9.5 wks67th slowest of 146
Wigan9.4 wks69th slowest of 146
Blackpool9.3 wks76th slowest of 146
Pendle9.3 wks78th slowest of 146
Sefton8.6 wks102nd slowest of 146
South Ribble8.3 wks110th slowest of 146
Trafford8.0 wks28th fastest of 146
Halton7.0 wks9th fastest of 146
Burnley6.8 wks7th fastest of 146

South East

CouncilAverage, 2025Rank
Guildford13.3 wks4th slowest of 146
Canterbury12.1 wks11th slowest of 146
Tonbridge & Malling11.6 wks16th slowest of 146
Chichester10.8 wks30th slowest of 146
Buckinghamshire10.5 wks35th slowest of 146
Basingstoke & Deane10.5 wks36th slowest of 146
Woking10.3 wks45th slowest of 146
Portsmouth10.2 wks47th slowest of 146
Brighton & Hove9.7 wks55th slowest of 146
Hastings9.5 wks63rd slowest of 146
Mid Sussex9.5 wks65th slowest of 146
Dartford9.4 wks68th slowest of 146
Dover9.4 wks70th slowest of 146
West Oxfordshire9.4 wks72nd slowest of 146
Slough9.3 wks77th slowest of 146
Horsham9.3 wks79th slowest of 146
Eastleigh9.3 wks80th slowest of 146
Winchester9.2 wks84th slowest of 146
Lewes & Eastbourne8.9 wks89th slowest of 146
Hart8.9 wks94th slowest of 146
Rushmoor8.7 wks100th slowest of 146
Reigate & Banstead8.6 wks104th slowest of 146
New Forest8.5 wks105th slowest of 146
Test Valley8.3 wks107th slowest of 146
Isle of Wight7.8 wks24th fastest of 146
Medway7.7 wks21st fastest of 146
Epsom & Ewell7.6 wks19th fastest of 146
Arun6.8 wks8th fastest of 146
Fareham3.7 wks1st fastest of 146

South West

CouncilAverage, 2025Rank
Torbay11.7 wks14th slowest of 146
Bath & NE Somerset11.5 wks17th slowest of 146
Cotswold10.6 wks34th slowest of 146
Tewkesbury10.4 wks38th slowest of 146
Forest of Dean9.9 wks54th slowest of 146
Gloucester9.4 wks71st slowest of 146
North Somerset9.2 wks81st slowest of 146
Exeter9.2 wks82nd slowest of 146
South Gloucestershire9.1 wks86th slowest of 146
Stroud8.2 wks111th slowest of 146
Cornwall8.2 wks112th slowest of 146
Plymouth8.1 wks116th slowest of 146
Dorset8.0 wks30th fastest of 146
Bristol7.7 wks22nd fastest of 146
Cheltenham7.5 wks17th fastest of 146

West Midlands

CouncilAverage, 2025Rank
Stafford12.6 wks8th slowest of 146
Rugby10.6 wks33rd slowest of 146
Warwick10.3 wks41st slowest of 146
Bromsgrove & Redditch8.9 wks90th slowest of 146
South Staffordshire8.9 wks93rd slowest of 146
Cannock Chase7.5 wks18th fastest of 146
Newcastle-under-Lyme7.4 wks16th fastest of 146
Dudley7.3 wks12th fastest of 146
Telford & Wrekin6.6 wks6th fastest of 146
Lichfield6.5 wks5th fastest of 146

Yorkshire and The Humber

CouncilAverage, 2025Rank
Barnsley11.1 wks24th slowest of 146
Calderdale10.4 wks40th slowest of 146
Kirklees10.2 wks48th slowest of 146
North East Lincolnshire10.1 wks49th slowest of 146
Wakefield9.9 wks51st slowest of 146
Selby9.9 wks52nd slowest of 146
Bradford9.9 wks53rd slowest of 146
Kingston upon Hull9.1 wks85th slowest of 146
Leeds8.1 wks114th slowest of 146
Doncaster7.3 wks13th fastest of 146
Rotherham5.9 wks4th fastest of 146

National parks and joint boards

England planning authorities outside the nine ONS regions.

CouncilAverage, 2025Rank
South Downs13.5 wks2nd slowest of 146
New Forest National Park11.5 wks18th slowest of 146
Lake District NPA8.9 wks95th slowest of 146

Scotland

Scotland’s statutory period for local applications is two months; the eight-week line is used for comparison across Britain.

CouncilAverage, 2025Rank
Glasgow13.1 wks5th slowest of 146
East Dunbartonshire10.6 wks32nd slowest of 146
Inverclyde8.8 wks96th slowest of 146
Dumfries & Galloway8.0 wks27th fastest of 146
North Ayrshire5.9 wks3rd fastest of 146

Wales

CouncilAverage, 2025Rank
Powys12.8 wks7th slowest of 146
Neath Port Talbot9.4 wks75th slowest of 146
Merthyr Tydfil7.4 wks15th fastest of 146

Northern Ireland

Ranked against Northern Ireland’s own 15-week statutory target for local applications.

CouncilAverage, 2025Rank
Causeway Coast and Glens17.1 wks1st slowest of 4 in NI
Ards and North Down16.1 wks2nd slowest of 4 in NI
Belfast15.3 wks3rd slowest of 4 in NI
Mid Ulster14.7 wks1st fastest of 4 in NI