Decision times · London
How long planning decisions take in Camden
47 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Camden took 47 days from submission to decision — 9 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 3,229 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 Camden compares
Year to December 2026
Camden decides faster than the country as a whole: 10 days below the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 64%.
The average here is 68 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 137 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 2,077 64%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 533 17%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 619 19%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| December 2024 | 60 | 37 of 57 |
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 1,008 decided 31 days
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Lawful development 122 decided 52 days
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Amendments 171 decided 55 days
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Advertising 170 decided 56 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 400 decided 56 days
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Full applications 1,051 decided 61 days
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Prior approval 11 decided 62 days
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Householder 284 decided 66 days
What Camden decides
Year to December 2026
Camden issued 3,229 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 94% were approvals: 2,871 granted against 171 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 Camden?
The median planning application decided by Camden in the year to December 2026 took 47 days from submission to decision, 9 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 3,229 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Camden meet the eight week target?
64% of the 3,229 decisions Camden made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 81% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 137 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Camden faster or slower than average?
Camden is faster than average: its median of 47 days is 10 days below the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Camden approve?
94% of the clear-cut outcomes Camden issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 2,871 granted against 171 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Camden planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 47 days from application to decision (9 days inside the eight week target), across 3,229 decisions with both dates published. 64% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 81% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 137 days. 94% 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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<p>Data: <a href="https://planindex.co.uk/planning-decision-times/camden">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>