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Decision times · East of England

How long planning decisions take in King’s Lynn and West Norfolk

55 days.

In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by King’s Lynn and West Norfolk took 55 days from submission to decision — 1 day inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,081 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.

55 days
Median decision 1 day inside the eight week target
57%
Within eight weeks 88% within thirteen
95 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How King’s Lynn and West Norfolk compares

Year to December 2026

King’s Lynn and West Norfolk decides faster than the country as a whole: 2 days below the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 57%.

The average here is 60 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 95 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 620 57%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 336 31%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 125 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.

  1. Amendments 11 decided 27 days
  2. Conditions 78 decided 37 days
  3. Trees 83 decided 48 days
  4. Advertising 10 decided 56 days
  5. Lawful development 35 decided 56 days
  6. Outline 30 decided 56 days
  7. Heritage and listed buildings 48 decided 57 days
  8. Full applications 489 decided 60 days

How these types compare nationally

What King’s Lynn and West Norfolk decides

Year to December 2026

King’s Lynn and West Norfolk issued 1,081 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 90% were approvals: 523 granted against 61 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 King’s Lynn and West Norfolk?

The median planning application decided by King’s Lynn and West Norfolk in the year to December 2026 took 55 days from submission to decision, 1 day inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,081 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.

Does King’s Lynn and West Norfolk meet the eight week target?

57% of the 1,081 decisions King’s Lynn and West Norfolk 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 95 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is King’s Lynn and West Norfolk faster or slower than average?

King’s Lynn and West Norfolk is faster than average: its median of 55 days is 2 days below the national median of 57 days.

What proportion of applications does King’s Lynn and West Norfolk approve?

90% of the clear-cut outcomes King’s Lynn and West Norfolk issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 523 granted against 61 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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King’s Lynn and West Norfolk planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 55 days from application to decision (1 day inside the eight week target), across 1,081 decisions with both dates published. 57% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 88% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 95 days. 90% 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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<p>Data: <a href="https://planindex.co.uk/planning-decision-times/kings-lynn-and-west-norfolk">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>