Decision times · South East
How long planning decisions take in Brighton and Hove
67 days. Ranked 269 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Brighton and Hove took 67 days from submission to decision — 11 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 691 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Brighton and Hove compares
Year to September 2026
Brighton and Hove takes longer than the country as a whole: 11 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 40%.
The average here is 69 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 110 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 275 40%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 261 38%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 155 22%
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 | 67 | 269 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 63 | 251 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 63 | 199 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 60 | 190 of 236 |
| September 2025 | 38 | 29 of 324 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 38 days, Brighton and Hove has moved down 240 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.
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Trees 134 decided 28 days
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Prior approval 41 decided 42 days
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Conditions 45 decided 63 days
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Amendments 31 decided 64 days
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Lawful development 83 decided 64 days
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Advertising 22 decided 70 days
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Householder 173 decided 75 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 25 decided 83 days
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Full applications 136 decided 85 days
What Brighton and Hove decides
Year to September 2026
Brighton and Hove issued 691 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 92% were approvals: 610 granted against 53 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 September 2026 took 67 days from submission to decision, 11 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 691 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 269 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Brighton and Hove meet the eight week target?
40% of the 691 decisions Brighton and Hove made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 78% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 110 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 67 days is 11 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is Brighton and Hove getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 38 days, Brighton and Hove has moved down 240 places in the table. Its median has risen by 29 days.
What proportion of applications does Brighton and Hove approve?
92% of the clear-cut outcomes Brighton and Hove issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 610 granted against 53 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 September 2026: median 67 days from application to decision (11 days beyond the eight week target), across 691 decisions with both dates published. 40% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 78% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 110 days. Ranked 269 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 92% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.