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Decision times · London

How long planning decisions take in Kingston upon Thames

64 days. Ranked 248 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Kingston upon Thames took 64 days from submission to decision — 8 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,965 decisions where the council published both dates.

64 days
Median decision 8 days beyond the eight week target
248 of 343
UK rank up 35 places in a year
41%
Within eight weeks 79% within thirteen
122 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Kingston upon Thames compares

Year to September 2026

Kingston upon Thames takes longer than the country as a whole: 8 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 41%.

The average here is 80 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 122 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 806 41%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 739 38%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 420 21%

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.

Kingston upon Thames: 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 64 248 of 343
June 2026 63 248 of 328
March 2026 64 204 of 243
December 2025 61 192 of 236
September 2025 73 283 of 324
June 2025 86 284 of 313
March 2025 81 286 of 315
December 2024 77 288 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 73 days, Kingston upon Thames has moved up 35 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. Telecoms 14 decided 28 days
  2. Amendments 46 decided 35 days
  3. Lawful development 279 decided 56 days
  4. Trees 329 decided 56 days
  5. Conditions 294 decided 57 days
  6. Outline 28 decided 57 days
  7. Householder 597 decided 70 days
  8. Advertising 44 decided 77 days
  9. Full applications 302 decided 97 days
  10. Heritage and listed buildings 14 decided 133 days

How these types compare nationally

What Kingston upon Thames decides

Year to September 2026

Kingston upon Thames issued 1,965 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 82% were approvals: 1,419 granted against 310 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 Kingston upon Thames?

The median planning application decided by Kingston upon Thames in the year to September 2026 took 64 days from submission to decision, 8 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,965 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 248 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Kingston upon Thames meet the eight week target?

41% of the 1,965 decisions Kingston upon Thames made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 79% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 122 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Kingston upon Thames faster or slower than average?

Kingston upon Thames is slower than average: its median of 64 days is 8 days above the national median of 56 days.

Is Kingston upon Thames getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 73 days, Kingston upon Thames has moved up 35 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 9 days.

What proportion of applications does Kingston upon Thames approve?

82% of the clear-cut outcomes Kingston upon Thames issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 1,419 granted against 310 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

Kingston upon Thames planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 64 days from application to decision (8 days beyond the eight week target), across 1,965 decisions with both dates published. 41% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 79% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 122 days. Ranked 248 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 82% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.