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Decision times · East of England

How long planning decisions take in Dacorum

52 days.

In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Dacorum took 52 days from submission to decision — 4 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,003 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.

52 days
Median decision 4 days inside the eight week target
67%
Within eight weeks 85% within thirteen
122 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Dacorum compares

Year to December 2026

Dacorum decides faster than the country as a whole: 5 days below the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 67%.

The average here is 71 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 122 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 676 67%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 173 17%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 154 15%

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. Trees 118 decided 14 days
  2. Prior approval 41 decided 31 days
  3. Lawful development 99 decided 50 days
  4. Amendments 83 decided 51 days
  5. Householder 302 decided 52 days
  6. Advertising 10 decided 55 days
  7. Conditions 144 decided 56 days
  8. Heritage and listed buildings 57 decided 56 days
  9. Outline 12 decided 56 days
  10. Full applications 115 decided 106 days

How these types compare nationally

What Dacorum decides

Year to December 2026

Dacorum issued 1,003 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 86% were approvals: 815 granted against 134 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 Dacorum?

The median planning application decided by Dacorum in the year to December 2026 took 52 days from submission to decision, 4 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,003 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.

Does Dacorum meet the eight week target?

67% of the 1,003 decisions Dacorum made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 85% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 122 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Dacorum faster or slower than average?

Dacorum is faster than average: its median of 52 days is 5 days below the national median of 57 days.

What proportion of applications does Dacorum approve?

86% of the clear-cut outcomes Dacorum issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 815 granted against 134 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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Dacorum planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 52 days from application to decision (4 days inside the eight week target), across 1,003 decisions with both dates published. 67% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 85% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 122 days. 86% 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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