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Decision times · East of England

How long planning decisions take in Bedford

56 days. Ranked 167 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Bedford took 56 days from submission to decision — exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 210 decisions where the council published both dates.

56 days
Median decision exactly the eight week target
167 of 343
UK rank down 162 places in a year
60%
Within eight weeks 90% within thirteen
91 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Bedford compares

Year to September 2026

Bedford sits exactly on the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 60%.

The average here is 56 days. For planning around, 91 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 125 60%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 64 30%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 21 10%

The last few years

Each row is a full twelve months of decisions, ending in the quarter shown

Rolling twelve month windows overlap by nine months, so this reads as a trend rather than as four separate quarters. Only windows our records reach far enough back to measure in full are listed.

Bedford: median days from application to decision, by rolling twelve month window. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.
Twelve months to Median days UK rank
September 2026 56 167 of 343
June 2026 55 135 of 328
September 2025 24 5 of 324
June 2025 46 20 of 313
March 2025 46 19 of 315
December 2024 49 35 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 24 days, Bedford has moved down 162 places in the table.

By type of application

Year to September 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. Trees 29 decided 41 days
  2. Amendments 21 decided 43 days
  3. Lawful development 25 decided 53 days
  4. Conditions 82 decided 56 days
  5. Full applications 38 decided 63 days

How these types compare nationally

What Bedford decides

Year to September 2026

Bedford issued 210 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 76% were approvals: 125 granted against 39 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 Bedford?

The median planning application decided by Bedford in the year to September 2026 took 56 days from submission to decision, exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 210 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 167 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Bedford meet the eight week target?

60% of the 210 decisions Bedford made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 90% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 91 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Bedford faster or slower than average?

Bedford sits exactly on the national median of 56 days.

Is Bedford getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 24 days, Bedford has moved down 162 places in the table. Its median has risen by 32 days.

What proportion of applications does Bedford approve?

76% of the clear-cut outcomes Bedford issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 125 granted against 39 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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Bedford planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 56 days from application to decision (exactly the eight week target), across 210 decisions with both dates published. 60% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 90% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 91 days. Ranked 167 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 76% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.