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Decision times · East of England

How long planning decisions take in Brentwood

75 days. Ranked 287 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Brentwood took 75 days from submission to decision — 19 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 446 decisions where the council published both dates.

75 days
Median decision 19 days beyond the eight week target
287 of 343
UK rank down 6 places in a year
32%
Within eight weeks 62% within thirteen
161 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Brentwood compares

Year to September 2026

Brentwood takes longer than the country as a whole: 19 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 32%.

The average here is 95 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 161 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 144 32%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 131 29%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 171 38%

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.

Brentwood: 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 75 287 of 343
June 2026 72 282 of 328
March 2026 134 232 of 243
December 2025 129 222 of 236
September 2025 72 281 of 324
June 2025 66 234 of 313
March 2025 64 233 of 315
December 2024 60 203 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 72 days, Brentwood has moved down 6 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. Prior approval 11 decided 41 days
  2. Trees 36 decided 50 days
  3. Amendments 13 decided 58 days
  4. Conditions 70 decided 63 days
  5. Householder 135 decided 86 days
  6. Lawful development 59 decided 87 days
  7. Full applications 83 decided 110 days
  8. Heritage and listed buildings 18 decided 122 days

How these types compare nationally

What Brentwood decides

Year to September 2026

Brentwood issued 446 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 88% were approvals: 323 granted against 45 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 Brentwood?

The median planning application decided by Brentwood in the year to September 2026 took 75 days from submission to decision, 19 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 446 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 287 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Brentwood meet the eight week target?

32% of the 446 decisions Brentwood made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 62% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 161 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Brentwood faster or slower than average?

Brentwood is slower than average: its median of 75 days is 19 days above the national median of 56 days.

Is Brentwood getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 72 days, Brentwood has moved down 6 places in the table. Its median has risen by 3 days.

What proportion of applications does Brentwood approve?

88% of the clear-cut outcomes Brentwood issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 323 granted against 45 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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Brentwood planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 75 days from application to decision (19 days beyond the eight week target), across 446 decisions with both dates published. 32% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 62% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 161 days. Ranked 287 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 88% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.