Slowest planning councils in the UK 2026

Which councils take the longest to decide planning applications? Average decision times ranked from slowest to fastest over the last 12 months.

Applications registered 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026. Updated October 2026.

Councils ranked

380

Slowest (avg)

175 days

Fastest (avg)

16 days

National average

59 days

Map of the UK showing slowest planning councils in the uk for each council — Darker councils have higher figures. London is shown enlarged.

Slowest planning councils in the UK
#	Council	Avg days	Median days	Total decided
1	Newry Mourne Down	175	168	393
2	Armagh Banbridge Craigavon	113	91	580
3	Mid Ulster	108	94	541
4	Lisburn and Castlereagh	106	90	453
5	Belfast	105	96	1,021
6	Derry and Strabane	102	91	376
7	Bridgend	98	85	275
8	Causeway and Glens	96	82	575
9	Orkney	95	85	211
10	Moray	92	81	209
11	Walsall	91	65	208
12	Stafford	89	78	201
13	Kensington	89	67	2,076
14	North Warwickshire	88	77	259
15	High Peak	88	74	311
16	Ards and North Down	88	68	616
17	Great Yarmouth	87	62	160
18	Conwy	86	65	315
19	Antrim and Newtownabbey	83	68	537
20	Ryedale	83	72	162
21	Hammersmith and Fulham	81	65	1,175
22	Hinckley and Bosworth	81	60	461
23	City of London	80	65	1,280
24	St Albans	79	66	1,389
25	Rugby	79	63	464
26	Barnsley	79	59	289
27	West Northamptonshire	79	61	1,749
28	Staffordshire Moorlands	78	63	160
29	Havant	78	63	315
30	Anglesey	77	61	337
31	Mid East Antrim	77	63	627
32	Guildford	76	59	1,525
33	Mole Valley	75	57	1,077
34	Merton	75	62	1,306
35	Tonbridge	74	60	1,173
36	Maldon	74	56	661
37	Gateshead	74	58	610
38	Rushcliffe	74	56	495
39	East Staffordshire	73	57	924
40	Hackney	73	56	1,677
41	Cherwell	72	56	1,165
42	Fenland	71	57	680
43	West Dunbartonshire	71	58	102
44	Isle of Man	71	56	597
45	Blaby	71	56	465
46	Barrow	71	64	69
47	Glasgow	71	63	315
48	Birmingham	71	54	2,554
49	Calderdale	70	56	645
50	East Hertfordshire	70	56	1,452
51	Thanet	70	60	359
52	Brecon Beacons	70	54	225
53	Wigan	70	58	1,112
54	Westminster	70	55	7,392
55	Derby	70	56	721
56	Bassetlaw	70	58	543
57	Oldham	69	56	735
58	Brentwood	69	56	778
59	Solihull	69	54	1,214
60	Rossendale	69	57	325
61	Dudley	69	56	607
62	East Dunbartonshire	69	60	463
63	Yorkshire Dales	69	56	299
64	Liverpool	69	56	78
65	Kent	68	53	81
66	Tamworth	68	56	149
67	Warwick	68	56	1,058
68	Vale of White Horse	68	58	1,009
69	Havering	68	58	1,601
70	Harrow	68	56	1,519
71	West Lancashire	68	56	828
72	Snowdonia	68	56	152
73	Gedling	68	54	520
74	South Lanarkshire	67	58	967
75	Newcastle upon Tyne	67	56	90
76	Falkirk	67	51	151
77	Glamorgan	67	55	552
78	Reading	67	56	580
79	Hastings	67	54	409
80	Oadby and Wigston	67	53	225
81	Elmbridge	67	57	523
82	South Staffordshire	66	56	613
83	Wandsworth	66	56	3,202
84	Bolton	66	56	1,163
85	East Lindsey	66	56	832
86	Winchester	66	56	977
87	Rochdale	66	56	439
88	Knowsley	66	56	270
89	Hertsmere	66	56	1,256
90	Angus	65	56	312
91	Westmorland and Furness	65	56	922
92	Wyre	65	56	489
93	Copeland	65	55	128
94	Colchester	65	56	342
95	North East Lincs	65	54	404
96	Chesterfield	65	56	577
97	Welwyn Hatfield	65	56	926
98	Surrey	65	56	127
99	New Forest (District)	65	53	659
100	Halton	65	51	178
101	Luton	65	56	987
102	Lake District	65	54	733
103	Scilly Isles	65	56	57
104	Rhondda	65	56	336
105	Wirral	65	56	56
106	Kirklees	64	56	2,115
107	Basildon	64	54	803
108	Mansfield	64	56	398
109	Sefton	64	54	1,343
110	Exmoor	64	56	116
111	Pembrokeshire	64	55	399
112	Greenwich	64	56	2,646
113	Tower Hamlets	64	56	1,748
114	Horsham	64	56	988
115	North East Derbyshire	64	56	122
116	Guernsey	63	50	348
117	Melton	63	51	328
118	Woking	63	56	1,114
119	Preston	63	51	118
120	Blackpool	63	53	191
121	Renfrewshire	63	49	587
122	Jersey	63	54	571
123	Hillingdon	63	56	2,280
124	Slough	63	56	787
125	Inverclyde	62	56	96
126	Midlothian	62	57	244
127	Dundee	62	54	464
128	West Lothian	62	57	529
129	South Derbyshire	62	56	194
130	Highland	62	54	997
131	Nottingham	62	56	895
132	Canterbury	62	48	1,420
133	North Northamptonshire	62	55	363
134	Crawley	62	51	330
135	Bromley	62	56	1,292
136	Adur and Worthing	62	55	949
137	North Somerset	62	55	1,740
138	Wrexham	62	54	94
139	Wakefield	61	55	297
140	Bexley	61	56	1,811
141	Pembroke Coast	61	50	295
142	Waverley	61	56	871
143	Central Bedfordshire	61	58	614
144	Middlesbrough	61	54	228
145	Fermanagh and Omagh	61	41	724
146	Wiltshire	61	48	3,348
147	Bromsgrove Redditch	60	54	640
148	Chorley	60	55	621
149	Bath	60	47	1,879
150	Lambeth	60	56	2,870
151	Waltham Forest	60	55	1,798
152	St Helens	60	55	475
153	Harborough	60	53	924
154	Bracknell	60	53	108
155	Lewes	60	54	188
156	Newham	60	55	1,994
157	Plymouth	60	51	1,287
158	Newcastle under Lyme	60	52	569
159	Ealing	60	55	3,103
160	Torbay	60	54	584
161	Sutton	60	55	1,339
162	York	60	56	1,181
163	Gravesham	60	53	729
164	South Holland	60	53	277
165	Kingston	59	56	2,100
166	Stratford on Avon	59	48	1,064
167	Warrington	59	56	74
168	Oxford	59	55	1,152
169	Neath	59	51	410
170	Carlisle	59	50	481
171	South Downs	59	53	1,814
172	West Somerset	59	56	166
173	Wealden	59	51	1,634
174	Western Isles	59	52	268
175	Leicester	59	55	460
176	Eastleigh	59	51	681
177	Aberdeenshire	58	54	812
178	Hounslow	58	55	2,411
179	BCP	58	58	2,896
180	Thurrock	58	55	705
181	Croydon	58	53	2,778
182	South Gloucestershire	58	51	791
183	Monmouthshire	58	43	601
184	Forest of Dean	58	50	614
185	Shepway	58	50	124
186	Old Oak Park Royal	58	55	142
187	Allerdale	58	51	385
188	Sandwell	58	54	622
189	Broxbourne	58	56	353
190	Bradford	58	55	846
191	Southwark	58	50	3,062
192	Reigate	58	56	905
193	Norwich	58	55	594
194	Salford	58	55	632
195	Telford	57	52	371
196	Manchester	57	54	1,641
197	Rutland	57	52	978
198	Cannock Chase	57	53	229
199	Southend	57	56	420
200	Dartford	57	54	713
201	Hyndburn	57	49	269
202	Burnley	57	51	141
203	Rotherham	57	50	725
204	Flintshire	57	52	593
205	Wychavon	57	49	1,165
206	Taunton Deane	57	51	199
207	Islington	57	53	2,068
208	Caerphilly	57	54	341
209	Haringey	57	54	2,672
210	Torfaen	57	48	216
211	Merthyr Tydfil	57	47	179
212	Spelthorne	57	55	536
213	Barking and Dagenham	57	54	539
214	Brent	57	56	2,785
215	Charnwood	56	42	266
216	Medway	56	53	1,331
217	South Tyneside	56	51	134
218	Sheffield	56	54	1,777
219	North York Moors	56	55	374
220	Tameside	56	52	819
221	Hambleton	56	53	283
222	Epping Forest	56	52	869
223	Malvern Hills	56	48	665
224	Boston	56	55	225
225	Surrey Heath	56	54	1,106
226	Wokingham	56	54	803
227	Milton Keynes	56	55	373
228	Brighton and Hove	55	55	113
229	Stroud	55	50	1,611
230	Swansea	55	50	588
231	Mid Kent	55	56	916
232	Selby	55	52	199
233	Torridge	55	55	217
234	North Hertfordshire	55	46	1,566
235	South Oxfordshire	55	51	1,252
236	South Ayrshire	55	49	394
237	Herefordshire	55	48	2,423
238	Isle of Wight	55	55	1,362
239	Ashford	54	52	342
240	Tandridge	54	52	237
241	Buckinghamshire	54	55	1,513
242	Bury	54	48	781
243	Lichfield	54	49	546
244	West Berkshire	54	54	1,264
245	Bolsover	54	43	236
246	Rushmoor	54	43	316
247	South West Devon	54	49	1,471
248	Camden	54	42	2,979
249	Lewisham	54	55	2,368
250	Peterborough	54	50	843
251	Hart	54	52	745
252	Epsom and Ewell	54	52	1,121
253	Amber Valley	53	45	256
254	Fylde	53	45	96
255	Broxtowe	53	46	602
256	Chelmsford	53	52	1,248
257	Bedford	53	47	518
258	Richmondshire	53	55	122
259	Blackburn with Darwen	53	49	220
260	North Lincs	53	49	228
261	Wyre Forest	52	48	482
262	Windsor	52	50	571
263	Rochford	52	53	109
264	East Ayrshire	52	48	162
265	Trafford	52	49	564
266	Newark and Sherwood	52	43	1,037
267	Chichester	52	52	643
268	Perth	52	49	369
269	North Norfolk	52	43	1,556
270	North Yorkshire	52	49	725
271	Mid Sussex	52	49	951
272	Mid Devon	52	49	269
273	Arun	52	52	531
274	Leeds	51	51	4,619
275	Stevenage	51	49	424
276	Barnet	51	52	4,149
277	Gosport	51	44	113
278	Craven	51	44	103
279	Coventry	51	49	87
280	Three Rivers	51	52	929
281	Tewkesbury	51	42	92
282	Durham	51	49	723
283	Ashfield	51	45	340
284	Northumberland (County)	51	49	3,242
285	Carmarthenshire	51	45	347
286	Enfield	51	49	3,900
287	Southampton	50	49	96
288	Tendring	50	51	868
289	Clackmannanshire	50	45	109
290	Huntingdonshire	50	49	503
291	West Oxfordshire	50	45	1,594
292	West Suffolk	50	49	662
293	Dover	50	51	354
294	Worcester	50	42	348
295	Runnymede	50	43	885
296	Peak District	50	50	296
297	Richmond	49	45	3,274
298	Chester	49	42	599
299	Newport	49	45	201
300	Aberdeen	49	41	744
301	Edinburgh	49	43	2,851
302	Powys	49	41	178
303	North Devon	49	49	357
304	Swindon	49	47	1,025
305	Portsmouth	49	50	122
306	Sevenoaks	49	50	711
307	Uttlesford	49	46	1,217
308	South Cambridgeshire	49	47	1,158
309	Hartlepool	49	40	71
310	Tunbridge Wells	48	49	708
311	Gloucester	48	49	434
312	Cambridge	48	48	947
313	South Kesteven	48	48	578
314	Eastbourne	48	50	195
315	North Lanarkshire	48	43	555
316	Kings Lynn	48	49	1,227
317	West Lindsey	48	45	579
318	Loch Lomond	48	29	59
319	Lancaster	48	45	746
320	Derbyshire Dales	48	44	182
321	East Renfrewshire	48	38	251
322	Hull	48	42	220
323	Redcar and Cleveland	48	35	436
324	North Tyneside	47	49	850
325	Harlow	47	48	246
326	East Riding	47	50	813
327	Mendip	47	46	423
328	South Ribble	47	42	647
329	Watford	47	49	427
330	South Norfolk Broadland	47	37	559
331	Lincoln	47	43	602
332	Test Valley	46	45	856
333	Exeter	46	42	329
334	Stockport	45	40	790
335	Babergh Mid Suffolk	45	39	1,772
336	Cardiff	45	38	442
337	Dacorum	45	47	576
338	Wolverhampton	45	36	758
339	Erewash	45	43	200
340	Folkestone and Hythe	45	44	782
341	Bristol	45	37	2,065
342	New Forest (Park)	45	32	754
343	Basingstoke	45	36	495
344	East Lothian	45	42	354
345	East Suffolk	44	43	517
346	Cotswold	44	35	1,475
347	Doncaster	44	36	472
348	Stirling	44	41	153
349	Stockton-on-Tees	44	36	294
350	Castle Point	44	41	189
351	Sunderland	43	41	215
352	Fife	43	35	1,321
353	East Cambridgeshire	43	37	269
354	Ribble Valley	43	36	186
355	North Ayrshire	43	38	331
356	North Kesteven	43	39	317
357	Darlington	43	41	678
358	Dorset	42	35	3,774
359	Sedgemoor	42	35	626
360	Redbridge	41	35	3,007
361	Dumfries	41	41	933
362	Broads	41	36	96
363	Cheltenham	41	36	1,456
364	Cornwall	40	42	3,640
365	Pendle	40	42	263
366	South Somerset	39	36	728
367	Ipswich	39	36	146
368	Essex	39	30	151
369	North West Leicestershire	37	28	235
370	Scottish Borders	36	28	113
371	Hampshire	35	20	89
372	Teignbridge	35	30	228
373	Shropshire	34	35	365
374	Harrogate	34	35	81
375	Fareham	34	28	681
376	Argyll	32	22	555
377	Shetlands	32	24	128
378	East Devon	29	30	252
379	Derbyshire	25	13	69
380	Cairngorms	16	11	185

Last updated: 25 October 2026

The statutory target for most planning application decisions is 8 weeks (56 days) for minor applications and 13 weeks (91 days) for major applications. However, many local planning authorities regularly exceed these targets, with some UK councils taking considerably longer on average to determine planning applications.

Long planning application decision times can be caused by staffing shortages, high workload, complex applications requiring specialist consultation, or the need for additional information from applicants. Where a local planning authority fails to determine a planning application within the statutory period, applicants can lodge an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate on grounds of non-determination, which is treated as a deemed refusal.

The median planning decision time is often more informative than the average, as a small number of very long-running applications can skew average figures upward. These rankings compare UK councils fairly and only include local planning authorities with at least 50 decided planning applications in the last 12 months.

More UK planning statistics

Highest planning approval rates by council Most planning applications by council Planning appeals by council Housing development hotspots UK planning application trends

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