Decision times · South West
How long planning decisions take in Dorset
41 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Dorset took 41 days from submission to decision — 15 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 4,601 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 Dorset compares
Year to December 2026
Dorset decides faster than the country as a whole: 16 days below the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 78%.
The average here is 51 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 89 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 3,594 78%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 579 13%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 428 9%
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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Trees 1,818 decided 26 days
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Prior approval 198 decided 28 days
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Amendments 345 decided 44 days
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Lawful development 220 decided 51 days
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Householder 891 decided 54 days
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Advertising 52 decided 55 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 409 decided 56 days
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Outline 40 decided 59 days
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Full applications 554 decided 71 days
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Conditions 15 decided 125 days
What Dorset decides
Year to December 2026
Dorset issued 4,602 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 92% were approvals: 3,851 granted against 355 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 Dorset?
The median planning application decided by Dorset in the year to December 2026 took 41 days from submission to decision, 15 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 4,601 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Dorset meet the eight week target?
78% of the 4,601 decisions Dorset made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 91% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 89 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Dorset faster or slower than average?
Dorset is faster than average: its median of 41 days is 16 days below the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Dorset approve?
92% of the clear-cut outcomes Dorset issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 3,851 granted against 355 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Dorset planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 41 days from application to decision (15 days inside the eight week target), across 4,601 decisions with both dates published. 78% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 91% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 89 days. 92% 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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