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Decision times · London

How long planning decisions take in Barnet

49 days.

In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Barnet took 49 days from submission to decision — 7 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,777 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.

49 days
Median decision 7 days inside the eight week target
76%
Within eight weeks 96% within thirteen
71 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Barnet compares

Year to December 2026

Barnet decides faster than the country as a whole: 8 days below the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 76%.

The average here is 49 days. For planning around, 71 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 1,351 76%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 356 20%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 70 4%

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.

  1. Outline 12 decided 22 days
  2. Lawful development 316 decided 28 days
  3. Prior approval 115 decided 36 days
  4. Trees 229 decided 37 days
  5. Amendments 85 decided 42 days
  6. Conditions 326 decided 43 days
  7. Advertising 22 decided 56 days
  8. Full applications 172 decided 56 days
  9. Householder 422 decided 56 days
  10. Heritage and listed buildings 21 decided 58 days

How these types compare nationally

What Barnet decides

Year to December 2026

Barnet issued 1,777 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 78% were approvals: 1,164 granted against 334 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 Barnet?

The median planning application decided by Barnet in the year to December 2026 took 49 days from submission to decision, 7 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,777 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.

Does Barnet meet the eight week target?

76% of the 1,777 decisions Barnet made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 96% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 71 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Barnet faster or slower than average?

Barnet is faster than average: its median of 49 days is 8 days below the national median of 57 days.

What proportion of applications does Barnet approve?

78% of the clear-cut outcomes Barnet issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 1,164 granted against 334 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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Barnet planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 49 days from application to decision (7 days inside the eight week target), across 1,777 decisions with both dates published. 76% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 96% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 71 days. 78% 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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