Decision times · London
How long planning decisions take in City of London
80 days. Ranked 303 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by City of London took 80 days from submission to decision — 24 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,099 decisions where the council published both dates.
How City of London compares
Year to September 2026
City of London takes longer than the country as a whole: 24 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 30%.
The average here is 103 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 210 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
-
Within eight weeks the statutory target 334 30%
-
Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 305 28%
-
Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 460 42%
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 | 80 | 303 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 73 | 286 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 65 | 209 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 65 | 203 of 236 |
| September 2025 | 84 | 296 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 88 | 286 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 91 | 295 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 92 | 302 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 84 days, City of London has moved down 7 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.
-
Amendments 60 decided 70 days
-
Lawful development 113 decided 76 days
-
Conditions 447 decided 78 days
-
Heritage and listed buildings 113 decided 92 days
-
Advertising 66 decided 99 days
-
Full applications 151 decided 105 days
What City of London decides
Year to September 2026
City of London issued 1,099 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 100% were approvals: 1,048 granted against 3 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 City of London?
The median planning application decided by City of London in the year to September 2026 took 80 days from submission to decision, 24 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,099 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 303 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does City of London meet the eight week target?
30% of the 1,099 decisions City of London made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 58% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 210 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is City of London faster or slower than average?
City of London is slower than average: its median of 80 days is 24 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is City of London getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 84 days, City of London has moved down 7 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 4 days.
What proportion of applications does City of London approve?
100% of the clear-cut outcomes City of London issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 1,048 granted against 3 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
Click the text to select the whole citation.
City of London planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 80 days from application to decision (24 days beyond the eight week target), across 1,099 decisions with both dates published. 30% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 58% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 210 days. Ranked 303 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 100% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.