Decision times · South East
How long planning decisions take in Dover
56 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Dover took 56 days from submission to decision — exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 1,117 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 Dover compares
Year to December 2026
Dover decides faster than the country as a whole: 1 day below the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 54%.
The average here is 68 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 114 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 608 54%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 332 30%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 177 16%
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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Other 18 decided 27 days
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Prior approval 20 decided 41 days
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Trees 148 decided 43 days
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Amendments 69 decided 56 days
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Lawful development 43 decided 56 days
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Advertising 12 decided 57 days
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Outline 15 decided 57 days
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Full applications 326 decided 58 days
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Conditions 122 decided 59 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 50 decided 63 days
What Dover decides
Year to December 2026
Dover issued 1,117 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 92% were approvals: 799 granted against 71 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 Dover?
The median planning application decided by Dover in the year to December 2026 took 56 days from submission to decision, exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 1,117 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Dover meet the eight week target?
54% of the 1,117 decisions Dover made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 84% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 114 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Dover faster or slower than average?
Dover is faster than average: its median of 56 days is 1 day below the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Dover approve?
92% of the clear-cut outcomes Dover issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 799 granted against 71 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Dover planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 56 days from application to decision (exactly the eight week target), across 1,117 decisions with both dates published. 54% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 84% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 114 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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<p>Data: <a href="https://planindex.co.uk/planning-decision-times/dover">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>