Decision times · South East
How long planning decisions take in Ashford
66 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Ashford took 66 days from submission to decision — 10 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,422 decisions where the council published both dates.
This council carries a figure but no rank
Not ranked yet: our records do not yet pass the historical coverage, monthly continuity, missing-date and refresh checks for this window. The figure above is still what the published dates say; it is left out of the league table so it cannot distort the ranking. See the methodology.
How Ashford compares
Year to December 2026
Ashford takes longer than the country as a whole: 9 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 38%.
The average here is 90 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 156 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 543 38%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 469 33%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 410 29%
By type of application
Year to December 2026 · types with at least ten decisions
The headline median mixes every kind of application together. A householder extension and an outline application for a housing site are not the same job, and the difference between them is usually larger than the difference between two councils.
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Other 10 decided 29 days
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Prior approval 63 decided 33 days
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Trees 171 decided 46 days
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Amendments 133 decided 47 days
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Outline 11 decided 51 days
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Conditions 239 decided 58 days
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Advertising 23 decided 64 days
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Lawful development 109 decided 65 days
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Householder 319 decided 71 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 112 decided 94 days
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Full applications 215 decided 102 days
What Ashford decides
Year to December 2026
Ashford issued 1,422 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 91% were approvals: 1,216 granted against 113 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes sit outside that percentage rather than being counted as either.
Speed and approval rate are separate things. A council that refuses quickly is not doing the same job as one that negotiates an approval slowly, and neither figure alone says which served the applicant better.
Common questions
How long does a planning decision take in Ashford?
The median planning application decided by Ashford in the year to December 2026 took 66 days from submission to decision, 10 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,422 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Ashford meet the eight week target?
38% of the 1,422 decisions Ashford made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 71% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 156 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Ashford faster or slower than average?
Ashford is slower than average: its median of 66 days is 9 days above the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Ashford approve?
91% of the clear-cut outcomes Ashford issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 1,216 granted against 113 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Ashford planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 66 days from application to decision (10 days beyond the eight week target), across 1,422 decisions with both dates published. 38% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 71% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 156 days. 91% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.
Or take the data itself: this council's history (CSV) or the full league table (CSV).
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