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Planning application timescales: how long to expect

ow long does a planning application really take? Forget the rosy figures claiming the vast majority of planning applications are determined within time, because these flagrantly use "extension of time performance agreements" to artificially give an unrealistic picture. The statutory timescales of 13 weeks for major developments and 8 weeks for other developments has become something of a bad joke. What do you do when an applicant blames you for their application taking longer than this?

It can be helpful to set applicants' expectations into the right ball park by quoting official MHCLG figures on the percentage of applications determined within the 13 or 8 week statutory timescale.  MHCLG now distinguish between statutory timescales including and excluding extension of time Performance Agreements. The table below gives the figures for every LPA excluding extensions of time agreements.

To check out whether your LPA is getting better or worse over time see our tortoise-verses-hare table of change over time. In the table below, the % for non-major developments excludes householder applications.

Percentage of planning applications decided within statutory timescales,
EXCLUDING extensions of time, for the year ending 30th September 2025

Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (resi only) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major applns decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
England average 16% 20% 41% 64%





Adur 0% 0% 41% 60%
Amber Valley 17% 13% 41% 72%
Arun 17% 21% 78% 99%
Ashfield 20% 23% 35% 69%
Ashford 18% 23% 38% 81%
Babergh 17% 40% 50% 81%
Barking and Dagenham 17% 13% 76% 93%
Barnet 12% 14% 65% 83%
Barnsley 0% 7% 25% 47%
Basildon 8% 19% 37% 65%
Basingstoke and Deane 17% 13% 24% 62%
Bassetlaw 33% 21% 33% 37%
Bath and North East Somerset 45% 21% 30% 53%
Bedford 10% 6% 20% 55%
Bexley 0% 21% 45% 86%
Birmingham 4% 7% 9% 30%
Blaby 14% 11% 39% 58%
Blackburn with Darwen 9% 17% 45% 80%
Blackpool 25% 29% 34% 78%
Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (resi only) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major applns decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
Bolsover 0% 0% 58% 81%
Bolton 22% 17% 39% 48%
Boston 0% 34% 46% 73%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 6% 13% 19% 38%
Bracknell Forest 9% 7% 13% 43%
Bradford 26% 29% 47% 59%
Braintree 13% 14% 48% 74%
Breckland 38% 32% 41% 79%
Brent 0% 8% 61% 72%
Brentwood 25% 25% 18% 35%
Brighton and Hove 0% 11% 42% 58%
Bristol, City of 19% 15% 30% 70%
Broadland 9% 5% 25% 68%
Bromley 0% 6% 34% 66%
Bromsgrove 10% 13% 35% 61%
Broxbourne 0% 0% 26% 49%
Broxtowe 47% 48% 50% 72%
Buckinghamshire 18% 23% 33% 55%
Burnley 0% 17% 44% 73%
Bury 18% 29% 51% 74%
Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (resi only) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major applns decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
Calderdale 17% 17% 34% 60%
Cambridge 31% 24% 47% 86%
Camden 0% 0% 50% 56%
Cannock Chase 0% 20% 44% 87%
Canterbury 0% 4% 22% 44%
Castle Point 67% 50% 83% 97%
Central Bedfordshire 8% 24% 47% 81%
Charnwood 19% 21% 46% 76%
Chelmsford 8% 23% 56% 84%
Cheltenham 17% 36% 52% 76%
Cherwell 14% 19% 35% 49%
Cheshire East 5% 4% 15% 34%
Cheshire West and Chester 11% 7% 5% 28%
Chesterfield 0% 14% 28% 49%
Chichester 24% 21% 52% 85%
Chorley 20% 8% 49% 75%
City of London - 0% 11% 50%
Colchester 35% 44% 56% 78%
Cornwall 12% 20% 47% 74%
Cotswold 25% 34% 41% 55%
County Durham 18% 18% 27% 56%
Coventry 17% 37% 81% 90%
Crawley 0% 0% 28% 32%
Croydon 11% 5% 45% 66%
Cumberland 13% 26% 39% 62%
Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (resi only) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major applns decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
Dacorum 17% 15% 31% 76%
Darlington 0% 0% 43% 65%
Dartford 25% 38% 28% 62%
Dartmoor National Park 0% 0% 34% 66%
Derby 11% 15% 26% 46%
Derbyshire Dales 0% 4% 27% 77%
Doncaster 14% 16% 45% 86%
Dorset 30% 36% 42% 77%
Dover 14% 19% 39% 69%
Dudley 29% 23% 63% 76%
Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (resi only) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major applns decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
Ealing 0% 3% 41% 46%
East Cambridgeshire 7% 14% 41% 76%
East Devon 0% 13% 28% 67%
East Hampshire 29% 18% 17% 26%
East Hertfordshire 0% 3% 41% 77%
East Lindsey 47% 38% 46% 65%
East Riding of Yorkshire 21% 42% 77% 93%
East Staffordshire 46% 30% 26% 36%
East Suffolk 8% 8% 30% 51%
Eastbourne 0% 10% 43% 68%
Eastleigh 43% 35% 57% 66%
Ebbsfleet Development Corporation 25% 18% 17% 76%
Elmbridge 27% 29% 39% 66%
Enfield 30% 25% 72% 91%
Epping Forest 31% 27% 41% 72%
Epsom and Ewell 44% 54% 66% 89%
Erewash 20% 13% 50% 71%
Exeter 18% 29% 42% 59%
Exmoor National Park - 0% 35% 59%
Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (resi only) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major applns decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
Fareham 33% 26% 61% 91%
Fenland 7% 17% 35% 75%
Folkestone and Hythe 0% 25% 76% 94%
Forest of Dean 25% 22% 38% 66%
Fylde 0% 15% 35% 52%
Gateshead 43% 27% 28% 26%
Gedling 8% 8% 29% 62%
Gloucester 25% 25% 31% 60%
Gosport 20% 20% 46% 81%
Gravesham 20% 22% 46% 74%
Great Yarmouth 25% 6% 27% 44%
Greenwich 0% 0% 60% 78%
Guildford 0% 0% 13% 28%
Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (resi only) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major applns decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
Hackney 0% 7% 43% 50%
Halton 0% 10% 30% 78%
Hammersmith and Fulham 0% 10% 33% 33%
Harborough 7% 27% 27% 55%
Haringey 0% 0% 50% 57%
Harlow 0% 0% 50% 75%
Harrow 0% 27% 43% 75%
Hart 0% 18% 36% 73%
Hartlepool 11% 6% 35% 47%
Hartlepool Development Corporation - 17% 16% -
Hastings 0% 13% 43% 71%
Havant 0% 8% 20% 41%
Havering 0% 7% 39% 60%
Herefordshire, County of 14% 20% 11% 40%
Hertsmere 0% 0% 26% 47%
High Peak 20% 8% 12% 35%
Hillingdon 0% 11% 37% 61%
Hinckley and Bosworth 5% 14% 27% 51%
Horsham 11% 13% 30% 72%
Hounslow 8% 4% 43% 58%
Huntingdonshire 0% 5% 25% 53%
Hyndburn 50% 25% 32% 52%
Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (resi only) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major applns decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
Ipswich 0% 13% 47% 75%
Isle of Wight 23% 42% 71% 94%
Isles of Scilly 0% 0% 43% 65%
Islington 0% 0% 40% 41%
Kensington and Chelsea - 27% 52% 58%
King’s Lynn and West Norfolk 39% 40% 48% 85%
Kingston upon Hull, City of 0% 5% 15% 51%
Kingston upon Thames 10% 10% 50% 82%
Kirklees 0% 3% 26% 49%
Knowsley 14% 40% 34% 60%
Lake District National Park 50% 33% 52% 67%
Lambeth 17% 32% 47% 59%
Lancaster 20% 32% 45% 73%
Leeds 13% 14% 45% 68%
Leicester 11% 6% 32% 35%
Lewes 0% 10% 34% 55%
Lewisham 13% 9% 65% 71%
Lichfield 17% 16% 60% 88%
Lincoln 0% 20% 59% 82%
Liverpool 0% 13% 47% 60%
London Legacy Development Corporation10 0% 7% 12% 0%
Luton 36% 43% 52% 57%
Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (resi only) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major applns decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
Maidstone 56% 39% 55% 87%
Maldon 22% 20% 34% 74%
Malvern Hills 28% 34% 34% 68%
Manchester 26% 36% 66% 76%
Mansfield 27% 21% 20% 65%
Medway 19% 33% 59% 92%
Melton 7% 4% 2% 6%
Merton 0% 5% 46% 63%
Mid Devon 17% 27% 47% 75%
Mid Suffolk 6% 11% 47% 77%
Mid Sussex 16% 13% 38% 70%
Middlesbrough 0% 15% 43% 49%
Middlesbrough Development Corporation 0% 8% 24% -
Milton Keynes 10% 13% 42% 59%
Mole Valley 0% 18% 35% 61%
Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (resi only) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major applns decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
New Forest 7% 25% 39% 79%
New Forest National Park 0% 43% 31% 36%
Newark and Sherwood 27% 23% 39% 59%
Newcastle-under-Lyme 12% 27% 47% 57%
Newcastle upon Tyne 12% 10% 41% 53%
Newham 0% 13% 43% 63%
North Devon 21% 35% 34% 54%
North East Derbyshire 24% 20% 49% 64%
North East Lincolnshire 29% 30% 31% 61%
North Hertfordshire 0% 15% 40% 67%
North Kesteven 22% 18% 33% 69%
North Lincolnshire 21% 26% 35% 70%
North Norfolk 6% 9% 37% 65%
North Northamptonshire 10% 10% 24% 48%
North Somerset 5% 9% 36% 69%
North Tyneside 17% 22% 65% 86%
North Warwickshire 17% 17% 30% 67%
North West Leicestershire 9% 14% 20% 59%
North York Moors National Park - 43% 65% 79%
North Yorkshire 9% 14% 35% 63%
Northumberland 18% 24% 38% 59%
Northumberland National Park - 100% 54% 82%
Norwich 0% 25% 64% 79%
Nottingham 6% 20% 42% 42%
Nuneaton and Bedworth 0% 0% 28% 62%
Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (resi only) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major applns decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
Oadby and Wigston 0% 0% 56% 70%
Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation - 0% 64% 100%
Oldham 44% 31% 21% 43%
Oxford 0% 3% 36% 47%
Peak District National Park - 78% 56% 75%
Pendle 0% 15% 52% 65%
Peterborough 22% 28% 50% 60%
Plymouth 38% 52% 59% 72%
Portsmouth 33% 29% 38% 55%
Preston 9% 20% 40% 65%
Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (resi only) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major applns decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
Reading 25% 30% 31% 51%
Redbridge 36% 33% 50% 73%
Redcar and Cleveland 50% 37% 56% 63%
Redditch 17% 20% 50% 81%
Reigate and Banstead 29% 22% 51% 74%
Ribble Valley 33% 24% 45% 53%
Richmond upon Thames 33% 33% 53% 69%
Rochdale 9% 25% 30% 56%
Rochford 0% 0% 29% 48%
Rossendale 0% 20% 20% 44%
Rother 25% 24% 33% 45%
Rotherham 44% 47% 53% 74%
Rugby 25% 12% 37% 49%
Runnymede 8% 13% 36% 65%
Rushcliffe 27% 23% 31% 58%
Rushmoor 17% 11% 51% 79%
Rutland 25% 32% 62% 80%
Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (resi only) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major applns decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
Salford 22% 18% 34% 53%
Sandwell 27% 28% 57% 75%
Sefton 31% 46% 46% 73%
Sevenoaks 18% 20% 50% 70%
Sheffield 33% 29% 47% 64%
Shropshire 21% 35% 54% 81%
Slough 9% 7% 33% 37%
Solihull 0% 11% 23% 57%
Somerset 10% 15% 34% 72%
South Cambridgeshire 21% 22% 40% 83%
South Derbyshire 29% 26% 50% 67%
South Downs National Park 11% 14% 24% 44%
South Gloucestershire 13% 18% 29% 67%
South Hams 22% 24% 49% 70%
South Holland 18% 24% 47% 68%
South Kesteven 25% 19% 14% 38%
South Norfolk 6% 8% 25% 68%
South Oxfordshire 26% 20% 36% 73%
South Ribble 25% 29% 52% 76%
South Staffordshire 50% 21% 40% 66%
South Tyneside 0% 8% 35% 69%
Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (residential) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major devt decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
Southampton 25% 10% 33% 56%
Southend-on-Sea 23% 30% 41% 63%
Southwark 10% 6% 51% 78%
Spelthorne 29% 38% 54% 76%
St Albans 13% 9% 29% 36%
St. Helens 0% 0% 37% 85%
Stafford 0% 8% 15% 37%
Staffordshire Moorlands 0% 0% 27% 38%
Stevenage 0% 0% 63% 89%
Stockport 13% 11% 24% 82%
Stockton-on-Tees 33% 20% 42% 65%
Stoke-on-Trent 8% 8% 33% 50%
Stratford-on-Avon 0% 11% 31% 60%
Stroud 36% 25% 43% 75%
Sunderland 30% 30% 48% 71%
Surrey Heath 0% 10% 34% 69%
Sutton 40% 31% 65% 90%
Swale 22% 20% 13% 31%
Swindon 33% 31% 60% 89%
Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (resi only) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major applns decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
Tameside 6% 11% 44% 75%
Tamworth 0% 0% 48% 51%
Tandridge 0% 9% 38% 65%
Teignbridge 8% 16% 54% 72%
Telford and Wrekin 50% 49% 83% 96%
Tendring 50% 47% 55% 83%
Test Valley 0% 35% 52% 77%
Tewkesbury 13% 10% 17% 50%
Thanet 12% 12% 38% 61%
The Broads Authority 100% 100% 54% 69%
Three Rivers 40% 46% 54% 82%
Thurrock 11% 14% 44% 82%
Tonbridge and Malling 31% 26% 25% 49%
Torbay 44% 40% 36% 35%
Torridge 33% 32% 57% 76%
Tower Hamlets 0% 4% 53% 61%
Trafford 8% 19% 45% 77%
Tunbridge Wells 17% 36% 58% 82%
Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (resi only) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major applns decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
Uttlesford 21% 23% 37% 77%
Vale of White Horse 22% 28% 32% 61%
Wakefield 0% 2% 22% 54%
Walsall 43% 21% 25% 56%
Waltham Forest 0% 21% 53% 74%
Wandsworth 6% 15% 50% 60%
Warrington 18% 18% 46% 77%
Warwick 16% 17% 34% 45%
Watford 0% 0% 56% 77%
Waverley 19% 16% 49% 73%
Wealden 26% 23% 44% 72%
Welwyn Hatfield 0% 14% 28% 57%
West Berkshire 8% 9% 22% 46%
West Devon 50% 45% 51% 61%
West Lancashire 25% 21% 26% 42%
West Lindsey 16% 27% 37% 68%
West Northamptonshire 13% 12% 18% 32%
West Oxfordshire 0% 11% 39% 75%
West Suffolk 12% 14% 24% 55%
Local Planning Authority – year ending 30 Sept 2025, *excluding extensions of time % major devt (resi only) decided within 13 wks* % major devt (all types) decided within 13 wks* % non-major applns decided within 8 wks* % Householder applns decided within 8 wks*
Westminster 0% 10% 49% 50%
Westmorland and Furness 6% 28% 32% 52%
Wigan 17% 31% 22% 45%
Wiltshire 2% 13% 27% 53%
Winchester 23% 24% 24% 61%
Windsor and Maidenhead 17% 24% 48% 70%
Wirral 10% 22% 38% 50%
Woking 17% 8% 34% 45%
Wokingham 24% 31% 45% 76%
Wolverhampton 26% 44% 59% 72%
Worcester 0% 20% 33% 72%
Worthing 0% 20% 46% 51%
Wychavon 16% 13% 37% 79%
Wyre 0% 8% 17% 36%
Wyre Forest 40% 38% 43% 68%
York 24% 20% 32% 63%
Yorkshire Dales National Park - 0% 32% 59%

Source: 'Planning Performance Dashboard Year ending September 2025' on the .GOV website here
NB. The above table is for district matters only. It does not include county matters (minerals & waste applications, etc)

A more detailed breakdown for each local authority by type of development can be found on the MHCLG planning application statistics dashboard for PS2 returns here.

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