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Decision times · London

How long planning decisions take in City of London

83 days. Ranked 43 of 45.

In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by City of London took 83 days from submission to decision — 27 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,389 decisions where the council published both dates.

83 days
Median decision 27 days beyond the eight week target
43 of 45
UK rank down 24 places in a year
31%
Within eight weeks 55% within thirteen
248 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How City of London compares

Year to December 2026

City of London takes longer than the country as a whole: 26 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 31%.

The average here is 124 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 248 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 428 31%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 332 24%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 629 45%

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.

City of London: median days from application to decision, by rolling twelve month window. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.
Twelve months to Median days UK rank
December 2026 83 43 of 45
September 2026 84 52 of 56
June 2026 85 38 of 39
March 2026 83 32 of 38
December 2025 84 19 of 24
September 2025 93 26 of 27
June 2025 91 30 of 31
March 2025 92 29 of 30
December 2024 87 55 of 57

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 84 days, City of London has moved down 24 places in the table.

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.

  1. Amendments 72 decided 73 days
  2. Lawful development 120 decided 77 days
  3. Conditions 309 decided 82 days
  4. Heritage and listed buildings 161 decided 93 days
  5. Advertising 50 decided 100 days
  6. Full applications 199 decided 121 days

How these types compare nationally

What City of London decides

Year to December 2026

City of London issued 1,389 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 100% were approvals: 1,311 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 December 2026 took 83 days from submission to decision, 27 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,389 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 43 of 45 UK councils on decision speed.

Does City of London meet the eight week target?

31% of the 1,389 decisions City of London made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 55% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 248 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 83 days is 26 days above the national median of 57 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 24 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 1 day.

What proportion of applications does City of London approve?

100% of the clear-cut outcomes City of London issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 1,311 granted against 3 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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City of London planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 83 days from application to decision (27 days beyond the eight week target), across 1,389 decisions with both dates published. 31% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 55% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 248 days. Ranked 43 of 45 UK councils on decision speed (national median 57 days). 100% 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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