Decision times · East of England
How long planning decisions take in Fenland
75 days. Ranked 289 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Fenland took 75 days from submission to decision — 19 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 219 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Fenland compares
Year to September 2026
Fenland takes longer than the country as a whole: 19 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 27%.
The average here is 92 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 161 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 59 27%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 98 45%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 62 28%
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 | 75 | 289 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 66 | 273 of 328 |
| September 2025 | 90 | 305 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 90 | 290 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 89 | 294 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 90 | 299 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 90 days, Fenland has moved up 16 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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Trees 26 decided 52 days
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Lawful development 10 decided 70 days
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Conditions 38 decided 72 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 12 decided 76 days
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Amendments 20 decided 77 days
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Full applications 72 decided 84 days
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Outline 12 decided 169 days
What Fenland decides
Year to September 2026
Fenland issued 219 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 87% were approvals: 173 granted against 25 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 Fenland?
The median planning application decided by Fenland in the year to September 2026 took 75 days from submission to decision, 19 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 219 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 289 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Fenland meet the eight week target?
27% of the 219 decisions Fenland made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 72% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 161 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Fenland faster or slower than average?
Fenland is slower than average: its median of 75 days is 19 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is Fenland getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 90 days, Fenland has moved up 16 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 15 days.
What proportion of applications does Fenland approve?
87% of the clear-cut outcomes Fenland issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 173 granted against 25 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Fenland planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 75 days from application to decision (19 days beyond the eight week target), across 219 decisions with both dates published. 27% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 72% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 161 days. Ranked 289 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 87% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.