Decision times · West Midlands
How long planning decisions take in East Staffordshire
84 days. Ranked 313 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by East Staffordshire took 84 days from submission to decision — 28 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 471 decisions where the council published both dates.
How East Staffordshire compares
Year to September 2026
East Staffordshire takes longer than the country as a whole: 28 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 34%.
The average here is 134 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 322 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 158 34%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 93 20%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 220 47%
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 | 84 | 313 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 98 | 318 of 328 |
| September 2025 | 68 | 266 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 69 | 250 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 69 | 252 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 69 | 263 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 68 days, East Staffordshire has moved down 47 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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Prior approval 28 decided 42 days
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Trees 64 decided 44 days
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Lawful development 28 decided 57 days
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Amendments 18 decided 73 days
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Conditions 75 decided 73 days
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Householder 119 decided 92 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 20 decided 136 days
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Full applications 99 decided 166 days
What East Staffordshire decides
Year to September 2026
East Staffordshire issued 471 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 83% were approvals: 390 granted against 79 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 Staffordshire?
The median planning application decided by East Staffordshire in the year to September 2026 took 84 days from submission to decision, 28 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 471 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 313 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does East Staffordshire meet the eight week target?
34% of the 471 decisions East Staffordshire made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 53% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 322 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 Staffordshire faster or slower than average?
East Staffordshire is slower than average: its median of 84 days is 28 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is East Staffordshire getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 68 days, East Staffordshire has moved down 47 places in the table. Its median has risen by 16 days.
What proportion of applications does East Staffordshire approve?
83% of the clear-cut outcomes East Staffordshire issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 390 granted against 79 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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East Staffordshire planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 84 days from application to decision (28 days beyond the eight week target), across 471 decisions with both dates published. 34% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 53% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 322 days. Ranked 313 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 83% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.