Decision times · East of England
How long planning decisions take in East Suffolk
53 days. Ranked 69 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by East Suffolk took 53 days from submission to decision — 3 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,927 decisions where the council published both dates.
How East Suffolk compares
Year to September 2026
East Suffolk decides faster than the country as a whole: 3 days below the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 60%.
The average here is 59 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 98 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 1,151 60%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 547 28%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 229 12%
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 | 53 | 69 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 54 | 98 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 55 | 130 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 54 | 142 of 236 |
| September 2025 | 60 | 219 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 62 | 212 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 60 | 196 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 60 | 204 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 60 days, East Suffolk has moved up 150 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 261 decided 17 days
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Prior approval 78 decided 40 days
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Trees 250 decided 40 days
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Amendments 196 decided 41 days
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Conditions 328 decided 51 days
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Lawful development 59 decided 52 days
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Advertising 21 decided 68 days
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Full applications 640 decided 68 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 81 decided 70 days
What East Suffolk decides
Year to September 2026
East Suffolk issued 1,927 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 95% were approvals: 1,741 granted against 91 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 Suffolk?
The median planning application decided by East Suffolk in the year to September 2026 took 53 days from submission to decision, 3 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,927 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 69 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does East Suffolk meet the eight week target?
60% of the 1,927 decisions East Suffolk made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 88% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 98 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 Suffolk faster or slower than average?
East Suffolk is faster than average: its median of 53 days is 3 days below the national median of 56 days.
Is East Suffolk getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 60 days, East Suffolk has moved up 150 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 7 days.
What proportion of applications does East Suffolk approve?
95% of the clear-cut outcomes East Suffolk issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 1,741 granted against 91 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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East Suffolk planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 53 days from application to decision (3 days inside the eight week target), across 1,927 decisions with both dates published. 60% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 88% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 98 days. Ranked 69 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 95% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.