Timescales – how long will planning take?

For most planning applications that are not major development, the statutory decision period is 8 weeks. Major development normally has 13 weeks, while Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) development normally has 16 weeks. Technical details consent following a Permission in Principle normally has a 10-week period for major development and 5 weeks for non-major development. The clock runs from the relevant date for a valid application, subject to any written extension or Planning Performance Agreement. See also what is a major or minor planning application.

Those are statutory decision periods rather than promises that a decision will arrive on the final day. Local authorities often exceed them because of workload or unresolved issues. A householder application and an application for a single new dwelling will normally fall within the 8-week non-major period. Part of that period is taken up by publicity and neighbour consultation, because the authority must allow the required publicity period before determining the application. The case officer may also carry out a planning officer site visit where seeing the site will help them assess the proposal.

Here at Planning Geek, when we submit an application we will often say a timeframe of 8 to 12 weeks for a regular application, such as a change of use or a householder application. But some local authorities will be slower unfortunately.

Planning Geek submits planning applications across the UK through our team of consultants. If you would like help preparing or managing an application, get in touch.

If the application has not been dealt with within these timescales, then you have a right of appeal to the inspectorate for non-determination. Although in reality working with the officer might be the better option. Note that the appeal timescale is a separate clock from the periods on this page.

If the applicant has not exercised their right of appeal, the planning guarantee may require the application fee to be refunded if the application remains undetermined after 16 weeks for non-major development or 26 weeks for major development, unless a longer period for the decision has been agreed. A Planning Performance Agreement or written extension of time can therefore affect both the non-determination date and the planning-guarantee position.

How can I speed up an application?

The simplest way to avoid preventable delay is to submit a thorough application with the information needed to understand and determine the proposal. That gives the planning officer fewer reasons to pause the process for clarification or missing material.

Working with a good planning consultant is often critical. As is getting an architect to design a good scheme. Planning Geek can assist you with that application.

Make sure that everything is included, such as floor plans, elevations, measurements, reports and a design & access statement. Your local authority will have a validation checklist. Ensure that as many of the items are ticked off as possible prior to submission. Don’t forget they can’t start work on the application until it is valid and that includes payment of the correct fee. If you believe the council is asking for more than it is entitled to require, you can raise a validation dispute under Article 12.

What is a Planning Performance Agreement?

A Planning Performance Agreement (PPA) is a voluntary project-management agreement between an applicant and the local planning authority. It is most useful for large, complex or strategically important applications where both sides benefit from agreeing the timetable, responsibilities and resources in advance. A PPA can cover pre-application work, the application itself and sometimes post-application matters such as a section 106 agreement or related consents.

The timing matters. Government guidance says a PPA needs to be in place before the planning application is submitted if the application is to be treated as having an agreed longer decision period from the outset. If the application has already been submitted, the applicant and council can instead agree a written extension of time. Where a PPA specifies a longer decision date, that agreed period takes the place of the normal statutory deadline for the purposes of non-determination.

A PPA does not commit the council to approve the development. It commits the parties to a process and timetable. For applicants, the useful version is one with a clear target decision date, sensible milestones, named responsibilities and a mechanism for agreeing changes. An open-ended agreement can simply surrender the leverage provided by the statutory timescale.

Pre-app timescale

Unlike a planning application, ordinary pre-application advice does not have a national statutory decision period. The council’s own service standards may give a target, but in practice a response can take weeks or sometimes months. That loss of timetable certainty is one reason I am cautious about using pre-application advice unless it is likely to add real value.

In some cases it can be quicker to submit the planning application itself, particularly where the issues are reasonably clear. If significant problems emerge, an amendment may sometimes be accepted by the authority, or the application can be withdrawn and reconsidered, but applicants should not assume that a materially revised scheme can always be dealt with within the existing application.

Other planning timescales

Many other application types have their own statutory decision periods, unless the applicant and the local planning authority agree a longer period in writing.

A permission in principle application is 5 weeks.
Listed Building Consent should be decided within 8 weeks
Prior approval periods depend on the GPDO class: many Part 3 change-of-use routes use 56 days, the Part 6 agricultural and forestry procedure uses 28 days, and the larger home extension uses 42 days
Outline planning application – 8, 13 or 16 weeks depending upon the application type
Reserved matters – 8, 13 or 16 weeks depending upon the application type and will mirror the timescale for the outline application
Discharge of conditions should be decided in 8 weeks unless an extension of time is agreed
Non-material amendments should be decided in 28 days
S73 Application to vary conditions – 8 or 13 weeks depending upon the application type
A lawful development certificate is also normally 8 weeks – see our guides to a CLEUD for existing use or development and a CLOPUD for proposed use or development
Larger Home Extension prior approval, a maximum of 42 days

Other Planning Application Sections

Page Updated: 29th August 2026