Decision times · North West
How long planning decisions take in Cheshire West and Chester
57 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Cheshire West and Chester took 57 days from submission to decision — 1 day beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,305 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 Cheshire West and Chester compares
Year to December 2026
Cheshire West and Chester sits exactly on the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 50%.
The average here is 101 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 251 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 652 50%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 263 20%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 390 30%
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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Telecoms 16 decided 1 days
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Other 15 decided 25 days
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Trees 147 decided 52 days
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Lawful development 93 decided 57 days
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Full applications 482 decided 70 days
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Amendments 70 decided 74 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 59 decided 80 days
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Conditions 70 decided 95 days
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Advertising 50 decided 215 days
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Outline 20 decided 231 days
What Cheshire West and Chester decides
Year to December 2026
Cheshire West and Chester issued 1,305 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 93% were approvals: 979 granted against 77 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 Cheshire West and Chester?
The median planning application decided by Cheshire West and Chester in the year to December 2026 took 57 days from submission to decision, 1 day beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,305 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Cheshire West and Chester meet the eight week target?
50% of the 1,305 decisions Cheshire West and Chester made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 70% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 251 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Cheshire West and Chester faster or slower than average?
Cheshire West and Chester sits exactly on the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Cheshire West and Chester approve?
93% of the clear-cut outcomes Cheshire West and Chester issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 979 granted against 77 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Cheshire West and Chester planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 57 days from application to decision (1 day beyond the eight week target), across 1,305 decisions with both dates published. 50% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 70% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 251 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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<p>Data: <a href="https://planindex.co.uk/planning-decision-times/cheshire-west-and-chester">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>