Decision times · East of England
How long planning decisions take in Central Bedfordshire
70 days. Ranked 275 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Central Bedfordshire took 70 days from submission to decision — 14 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 572 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Central Bedfordshire compares
Year to September 2026
Central Bedfordshire takes longer than the country as a whole: 14 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 98 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 172 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
-
Within eight weeks the statutory target 182 32%
-
Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 209 37%
-
Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 181 32%
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 | 70 | 275 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 75 | 293 of 328 |
| September 2025 | 58 | 208 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 58 | 172 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 58 | 177 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 58 | 182 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 58 days, Central Bedfordshire has moved down 67 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.
-
Outline 22 decided 38 days
-
Amendments 44 decided 53 days
-
Lawful development 57 decided 59 days
-
Conditions 136 decided 63 days
-
Full applications 257 decided 77 days
-
Heritage and listed buildings 19 decided 90 days
-
Other 17 decided 97 days
What Central Bedfordshire decides
Year to September 2026
Central Bedfordshire issued 573 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 88% were approvals: 336 granted against 46 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 Central Bedfordshire?
The median planning application decided by Central Bedfordshire in the year to September 2026 took 70 days from submission to decision, 14 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 572 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 275 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Central Bedfordshire meet the eight week target?
32% of the 572 decisions Central Bedfordshire made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 68% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 172 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Central Bedfordshire faster or slower than average?
Central Bedfordshire is slower than average: its median of 70 days is 14 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is Central Bedfordshire getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 58 days, Central Bedfordshire has moved down 67 places in the table. Its median has risen by 12 days.
What proportion of applications does Central Bedfordshire approve?
88% of the clear-cut outcomes Central Bedfordshire issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 336 granted against 46 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
Click the text to select the whole citation.
Central Bedfordshire planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 70 days from application to decision (14 days beyond the eight week target), across 572 decisions with both dates published. 32% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 68% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 172 days. Ranked 275 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 88% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.