Decision times · South West
How long planning decisions take in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
60 days. Ranked 216 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole took 60 days from submission to decision — 4 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 4,170 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole compares
Year to September 2026
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole takes longer than the country as a whole: 4 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 42%.
The average here is 63 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 96 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 1,733 42%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 1,974 47%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 463 11%
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.
| Twelve months to | Median days | UK rank |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 60 | 216 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 59 | 224 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 59 | 186 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 57 | 177 of 236 |
| September 2025 | 4 | — |
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.
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Prior approval 83 decided 42 days
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Amendments 267 decided 55 days
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Lawful development 320 decided 56 days
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Householder 860 decided 57 days
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Advertising 85 decided 60 days
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Trees 1,964 decided 61 days
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Conditions 21 decided 72 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 34 decided 73 days
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Full applications 510 decided 80 days
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Outline 16 decided 101 days
What Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole decides
Year to September 2026
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole issued 4,170 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 89% were approvals: 3,173 granted against 408 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 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole?
The median planning application decided by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole in the year to September 2026 took 60 days from submission to decision, 4 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 4,170 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 216 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole meet the eight week target?
42% of the 4,170 decisions Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 89% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 96 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole faster or slower than average?
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole is slower than average: its median of 60 days is 4 days above the national median of 56 days.
What proportion of applications does Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole approve?
89% of the clear-cut outcomes Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 3,173 granted against 408 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 60 days from application to decision (4 days beyond the eight week target), across 4,170 decisions with both dates published. 42% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 89% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 96 days. Ranked 216 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 89% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.