Decision times · East Midlands
How long planning decisions take in Chesterfield
64 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Chesterfield took 64 days from submission to decision — 8 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 292 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 Chesterfield compares
Year to December 2026
Chesterfield takes longer than the country as a whole: 7 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 37%.
The average here is 94 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 184 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 107 37%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 92 32%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 93 32%
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 12 decided 14 days
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Lawful development 11 decided 48 days
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Trees 38 decided 54 days
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Conditions 71 decided 64 days
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Householder 54 decided 64 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 11 decided 68 days
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Advertising 12 decided 70 days
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Full applications 53 decided 133 days
What Chesterfield decides
Year to December 2026
Chesterfield issued 292 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 91% were approvals: 245 granted against 23 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 Chesterfield?
The median planning application decided by Chesterfield in the year to December 2026 took 64 days from submission to decision, 8 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 292 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Chesterfield meet the eight week target?
37% of the 292 decisions Chesterfield made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 68% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 184 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Chesterfield faster or slower than average?
Chesterfield is slower than average: its median of 64 days is 7 days above the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Chesterfield approve?
91% of the clear-cut outcomes Chesterfield issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 245 granted against 23 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Chesterfield planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 64 days from application to decision (8 days beyond the eight week target), across 292 decisions with both dates published. 37% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 68% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 184 days. 91% 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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