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Decision times · South East

How long planning decisions take in Elmbridge

67 days.

In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Elmbridge took 67 days from submission to decision — 11 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 2,071 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.

67 days
Median decision 11 days beyond the eight week target
41%
Within eight weeks 71% within thirteen
137 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Elmbridge compares

Year to December 2026

Elmbridge takes longer than the country as a whole: 10 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 41%.

The average here is 81 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 137 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 840 41%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 625 30%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 606 29%

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.

Elmbridge: median days from application to decision, by rolling twelve month window. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.
Twelve months to Median days UK rank
December 2024 60 36 of 57

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.

  1. Telecoms 36 decided 21 days
  2. Outline 28 decided 22 days
  3. Prior approval 61 decided 43 days
  4. Trees 310 decided 43 days
  5. Other 14 decided 55 days
  6. Lawful development 235 decided 56 days
  7. Conditions 244 decided 58 days
  8. Advertising 32 decided 71 days
  9. Amendments 175 decided 77 days
  10. Householder 685 decided 84 days
  11. Full applications 223 decided 104 days
  12. Heritage and listed buildings 16 decided 114 days

How these types compare nationally

What Elmbridge decides

Year to December 2026

Elmbridge issued 2,071 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 78% were approvals: 1,348 granted against 389 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 Elmbridge?

The median planning application decided by Elmbridge in the year to December 2026 took 67 days from submission to decision, 11 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 2,071 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.

Does Elmbridge meet the eight week target?

41% of the 2,071 decisions Elmbridge made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 71% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 137 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Elmbridge faster or slower than average?

Elmbridge is slower than average: its median of 67 days is 10 days above the national median of 57 days.

What proportion of applications does Elmbridge approve?

78% of the clear-cut outcomes Elmbridge issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 1,348 granted against 389 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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Elmbridge planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 67 days from application to decision (11 days beyond the eight week target), across 2,071 decisions with both dates published. 41% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 71% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 137 days. 78% 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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