Decision times · South East
How long planning decisions take in Brighton and Hove
71 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Brighton and Hove took 71 days from submission to decision — 15 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 167 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 Brighton and Hove compares
Year to December 2026
Brighton and Hove takes longer than the country as a whole: 14 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 32%.
The average here is 80 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 133 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 54 32%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 61 37%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 52 31%
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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Trees 24 decided 40 days
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Prior approval 11 decided 56 days
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Conditions 11 decided 69 days
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Householder 52 decided 71 days
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Lawful development 17 decided 84 days
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Full applications 41 decided 102 days
What Brighton and Hove decides
Year to December 2026
Brighton and Hove issued 167 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 93% were approvals: 149 granted against 12 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 Brighton and Hove?
The median planning application decided by Brighton and Hove in the year to December 2026 took 71 days from submission to decision, 15 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 167 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Brighton and Hove meet the eight week target?
32% of the 167 decisions Brighton and Hove made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 69% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 133 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Brighton and Hove faster or slower than average?
Brighton and Hove is slower than average: its median of 71 days is 14 days above the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Brighton and Hove approve?
93% of the clear-cut outcomes Brighton and Hove issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 149 granted against 12 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Brighton and Hove planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 71 days from application to decision (15 days beyond the eight week target), across 167 decisions with both dates published. 32% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 69% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 133 days. 93% 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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<script src="https://planindex.co.uk/embed/decision-times.js" data-council="brighton-and-hove" defer></script>If your CMS strips scripts, use the frame directly:
<iframe src="https://planindex.co.uk/embed/decision-times/brighton-and-hove" title="Planning decision times in Brighton and Hove" width="100%" height="215" loading="lazy" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<p>Data: <a href="https://planindex.co.uk/planning-decision-times/brighton-and-hove">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>