Decision times · East of England
How long planning decisions take in East Suffolk
54 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by East Suffolk took 54 days from submission to decision — 2 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,512 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 East Suffolk compares
Year to December 2026
East Suffolk decides faster than the country as a whole: 3 days below the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 58%.
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 876 58%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 450 30%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 186 12%
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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Outline 189 decided 18 days
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Amendments 146 decided 39 days
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Prior approval 54 decided 41 days
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Trees 209 decided 41 days
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Conditions 269 decided 50 days
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Lawful development 47 decided 52 days
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Advertising 18 decided 64 days
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Full applications 502 decided 68 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 67 decided 70 days
What East Suffolk decides
Year to December 2026
East Suffolk issued 1,512 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 96% were approvals: 1,365 granted against 62 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 December 2026 took 54 days from submission to decision, 2 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,512 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does East Suffolk meet the eight week target?
58% of the 1,512 decisions East Suffolk made in the year to December 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 54 days is 3 days below the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does East Suffolk approve?
96% of the clear-cut outcomes East Suffolk issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 1,365 granted against 62 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
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East Suffolk planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 54 days from application to decision (2 days inside the eight week target), across 1,512 decisions with both dates published. 58% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 88% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 98 days. 96% 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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