Decision times · London
How long planning decisions take in Hammersmith and Fulham
79 days. Ranked 299 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Hammersmith and Fulham took 79 days from submission to decision — 23 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,467 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Hammersmith and Fulham compares
Year to September 2026
Hammersmith and Fulham takes longer than the country as a whole: 23 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 15%.
The average here is 111 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 202 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 218 15%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 630 43%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 619 42%
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 | 79 | 299 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 74 | 291 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 63 | 200 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 57 | 180 of 236 |
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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Amendments 118 decided 56 days
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Trees 59 decided 57 days
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Prior approval 27 decided 60 days
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Lawful development 68 decided 68 days
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Householder 97 decided 80 days
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Advertising 57 decided 82 days
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Conditions 358 decided 85 days
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Full applications 638 decided 88 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 37 decided 156 days
What Hammersmith and Fulham decides
Year to September 2026
Hammersmith and Fulham issued 1,467 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 96% were approvals: 1,368 granted against 64 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 Hammersmith and Fulham?
The median planning application decided by Hammersmith and Fulham in the year to September 2026 took 79 days from submission to decision, 23 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,467 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 299 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Hammersmith and Fulham meet the eight week target?
15% of the 1,467 decisions Hammersmith and Fulham made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 58% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 202 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Hammersmith and Fulham faster or slower than average?
Hammersmith and Fulham is slower than average: its median of 79 days is 23 days above the national median of 56 days.
What proportion of applications does Hammersmith and Fulham approve?
96% of the clear-cut outcomes Hammersmith and Fulham issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 1,368 granted against 64 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Hammersmith and Fulham planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 79 days from application to decision (23 days beyond the eight week target), across 1,467 decisions with both dates published. 15% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 58% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 202 days. Ranked 299 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 96% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.