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Decision times · London

How long planning decisions take in Islington

52 days. Ranked 54 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Islington took 52 days from submission to decision — 4 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 2,175 decisions where the council published both dates.

52 days
Median decision 4 days inside the eight week target
54 of 343
UK rank up 243 places in a year
65%
Within eight weeks 85% within thirteen
107 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Islington compares

Year to September 2026

Islington decides faster than the country as a whole: 4 days below the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 65%.

The average here is 58 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 107 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 1,404 65%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 455 21%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 316 15%

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.

Islington: median days from application to decision, by rolling twelve month window. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.
Twelve months to Median days UK rank
September 2026 52 54 of 343
June 2026 52 69 of 328
March 2026 51 76 of 243
December 2025 45 58 of 236
September 2025 84 297 of 324
June 2025 91 291 of 313
March 2025 92 297 of 315
December 2024 92 303 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 84 days, Islington has moved up 243 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.

  1. Trees 475 decided 5 days
  2. Amendments 133 decided 54 days
  3. Advertising 136 decided 55 days
  4. Full applications 499 decided 55 days
  5. Householder 283 decided 55 days
  6. Lawful development 105 decided 55 days
  7. Prior approval 51 decided 55 days
  8. Heritage and listed buildings 251 decided 57 days
  9. Conditions 11 decided 86 days

How these types compare nationally

What Islington decides

Year to September 2026

Islington issued 2,175 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 91% were approvals: 1,854 granted against 184 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 Islington?

The median planning application decided by Islington in the year to September 2026 took 52 days from submission to decision, 4 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 2,175 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 54 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Islington meet the eight week target?

65% of the 2,175 decisions Islington made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 85% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 107 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Islington faster or slower than average?

Islington is faster than average: its median of 52 days is 4 days below the national median of 56 days.

Is Islington getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 84 days, Islington has moved up 243 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 32 days.

What proportion of applications does Islington approve?

91% of the clear-cut outcomes Islington issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 1,854 granted against 184 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

Islington planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 52 days from application to decision (4 days inside the eight week target), across 2,175 decisions with both dates published. 65% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 85% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 107 days. Ranked 54 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 91% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.