Slowest Planning Councils in England

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

Data covers the most recent 24-month period. Rankings are based on 200 councils that meet minimum data thresholds for statistical significance. Last updated 14 May 2026.

#	Council	Avg Days	Median Days	Total Decided
1	Newry Mourne Down	243	231	170
2	Lisburn and Castlereagh	133	99	126
3	Armagh Banbridge Craigavon	116	91	171
4	Stafford	115	95	338
5	Causeway and Glens	108	76	316
6	Loch Lomond	108	84	69
7	Belfast	106	83	329
8	Moray	104	81	145
9	Derry and Strabane	104	75	176
10	High Peak	101	71	149
11	Scarborough	99	86	169
12	Glasgow	99	85	644
13	Antrim and Newtownabbey	98	84	236
14	Mid Ulster	97	89	175
15	Bridgend	96	72	159
16	Ards and North Down	96	71	259
17	East Staffordshire	92	74	437
18	Havant	92	75	243
19	Orkney	90	82	78
20	Hammersmith and Fulham	88	69	406
21	Rother	87	74	303
22	Rochford	86	69	233
23	Barnsley	85	68	191
24	Thanet	85	61	389
25	Conwy	85	69	185
26	Hinckley and Bosworth	84	56	196
27	Great Yarmouth	84	70	258
28	East Dunbartonshire	83	64	170
29	Rossendale	82	66	86
30	Staffordshire Moorlands	82	65	165
31	Guildford	82	60	847
32	North Warwickshire	82	60	261
33	Newport	80	62	316
34	Bassetlaw	80	62	289
35	Oldham	80	62	271
36	Wakefield	80	61	396
37	Leicester	80	65	404
38	West Northamptonshire	79	62	1495
39	Snowdonia	79	62	170
40	Richmondshire	78	59	228
41	Torfaen	78	54	186
42	Wrexham	78	62	195
43	West Suffolk	77	56	1035
44	Angus	77	62	196
45	Fenland	77	62	407
46	Elmbridge	76	66	258
47	Pembrokeshire	76	60	411
48	Pembroke Coast	76	56	231
49	Rushcliffe	76	62	328
50	Yorkshire Dales	76	56	215

Planning Decision Timescales

Local planning authorities in England are expected to determine most planning applications within statutory timescales: 8 weeks for minor and householder applications, and 13 weeks for major applications. Extensions of time can be agreed with applicants, and complex applications may take considerably longer.

Decision speed is a key performance indicator monitored by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Councils that consistently fail to meet targets may face designation as underperforming, potentially leading to applications being submitted directly to the Planning Inspectorate.

Factors contributing to slow decision times include staffing pressures, the complexity of applications, environmental constraints requiring specialist consultation, political sensitivity, and workload backlogs. Rural councils with smaller planning teams can be particularly affected.

Average vs Median Decision Times

The median decision time is often a better indicator of typical performance than the average (mean). A small number of very slow applications - such as major developments requiring environmental impact assessment or applications held in abeyance - can significantly inflate average figures.

We include both metrics to give a more complete picture. A large gap between average and median suggests the presence of outlier applications that are distorting the average.