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Decision times · London

How long planning decisions take in Lewisham

54 days. Ranked 80 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Lewisham took 54 days from submission to decision — 2 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 2,142 decisions where the council published both dates.

54 days
Median decision 2 days inside the eight week target
80 of 343
UK rank up 88 places in a year
59%
Within eight weeks 90% within thirteen
91 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Lewisham compares

Year to September 2026

Lewisham decides faster than the country as a whole: 2 days below the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 59%.

The average here is 54 days. For planning around, 91 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 1,256 59%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 675 32%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 211 10%

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.

Lewisham: 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 54 80 of 343
June 2026 52 66 of 328
March 2026 49 53 of 243
December 2025 49 84 of 236
September 2025 56 168 of 324
June 2025 57 157 of 313
March 2025 57 158 of 315
December 2024 57 163 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 56 days, Lewisham has moved up 88 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 148 decided 13 days
  2. Trees 431 decided 33 days
  3. Amendments 98 decided 37 days
  4. Prior approval 110 decided 39 days
  5. Lawful development 260 decided 55 days
  6. Advertising 28 decided 57 days
  7. Conditions 21 decided 57 days
  8. Householder 386 decided 57 days
  9. Full applications 626 decided 59 days
  10. Heritage and listed buildings 21 decided 93 days

How these types compare nationally

What Lewisham decides

Year to September 2026

Lewisham issued 2,146 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 87% were approvals: 1,662 granted against 252 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 Lewisham?

The median planning application decided by Lewisham in the year to September 2026 took 54 days from submission to decision, 2 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 2,142 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 80 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Lewisham meet the eight week target?

59% of the 2,142 decisions Lewisham made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 90% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 91 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Lewisham faster or slower than average?

Lewisham is faster than average: its median of 54 days is 2 days below the national median of 56 days.

Is Lewisham getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 56 days, Lewisham has moved up 88 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 2 days.

What proportion of applications does Lewisham approve?

87% of the clear-cut outcomes Lewisham issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 1,662 granted against 252 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

Lewisham planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 54 days from application to decision (2 days inside the eight week target), across 2,142 decisions with both dates published. 59% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 90% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 91 days. Ranked 80 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 87% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.