Decision times · South East
How long planning decisions take in Cherwell
63 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Cherwell took 63 days from submission to decision — 7 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,735 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 Cherwell compares
Year to December 2026
Cherwell takes longer than the country as a whole: 6 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 42%.
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, 148 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 736 42%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 542 31%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 457 26%
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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Amendments 77 decided 28 days
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Other 41 decided 28 days
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Telecoms 71 decided 28 days
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Trees 277 decided 37 days
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Prior approval 16 decided 46 days
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Lawful development 87 decided 61 days
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Conditions 354 decided 68 days
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Full applications 561 decided 78 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 133 decided 84 days
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Outline 38 decided 90 days
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Advertising 31 decided 91 days
What Cherwell decides
Year to December 2026
Cherwell issued 1,735 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 92% were approvals: 1,459 granted against 119 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 Cherwell?
The median planning application decided by Cherwell in the year to December 2026 took 63 days from submission to decision, 7 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,735 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Cherwell meet the eight week target?
42% of the 1,735 decisions Cherwell made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 74% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 148 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Cherwell faster or slower than average?
Cherwell is slower than average: its median of 63 days is 6 days above the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Cherwell approve?
92% of the clear-cut outcomes Cherwell issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 1,459 granted against 119 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Cherwell planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 63 days from application to decision (7 days beyond the eight week target), across 1,735 decisions with both dates published. 42% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 74% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 148 days. 92% 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/cherwell">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>