Decision times · East of England
How long planning decisions take in East Hertfordshire
81 days. Ranked 308 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by East Hertfordshire took 81 days from submission to decision — 25 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 475 decisions where the council published both dates.
How East Hertfordshire compares
Year to September 2026
East Hertfordshire takes longer than the country as a whole: 25 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 24%.
The average here is 118 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 224 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 112 24%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 162 34%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 201 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 | 81 | 308 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 70 | 280 of 328 |
| September 2025 | 62 | 235 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 62 | 207 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 62 | 211 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 61 | 209 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 62 days, East Hertfordshire has moved down 73 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.
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Outline 41 decided 56 days
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Householder 158 decided 71 days
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Conditions 113 decided 86 days
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Amendments 43 decided 89 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 29 decided 100 days
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Full applications 68 decided 136 days
What East Hertfordshire decides
Year to September 2026
East Hertfordshire issued 475 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 79% were approvals: 275 granted against 75 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 East Hertfordshire?
The median planning application decided by East Hertfordshire in the year to September 2026 took 81 days from submission to decision, 25 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 475 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 308 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does East Hertfordshire meet the eight week target?
24% of the 475 decisions East Hertfordshire 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 224 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is East Hertfordshire faster or slower than average?
East Hertfordshire is slower than average: its median of 81 days is 25 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is East Hertfordshire getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 62 days, East Hertfordshire has moved down 73 places in the table. Its median has risen by 19 days.
What proportion of applications does East Hertfordshire approve?
79% of the clear-cut outcomes East Hertfordshire issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 275 granted against 75 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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East Hertfordshire planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 81 days from application to decision (25 days beyond the eight week target), across 475 decisions with both dates published. 24% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 58% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 224 days. Ranked 308 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 79% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.