Decision times · South East
How long planning decisions take in Maidstone
56 days.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Maidstone took 56 days from submission to decision — exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 197 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.
How Maidstone compares
Year to September 2026
Maidstone takes longer than the country as a whole: 1 day above the national median of 55 days. Nationally 58% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 75%.
The average here is 52 days. For planning around, 72 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
-
Within eight weeks the statutory target 148 75%
-
Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 39 20%
-
Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 10 5%
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.
-
Trees 23 decided 27 days
-
Full applications 74 decided 56 days
-
Heritage and listed buildings 14 decided 56 days
Common questions
How long does a planning decision take in Maidstone?
The median planning application decided by Maidstone in the year to September 2026 took 56 days from submission to decision, exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 197 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Maidstone meet the eight week target?
75% of the 197 decisions Maidstone made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 95% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 72 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Maidstone faster or slower than average?
Maidstone is slower than average: its median of 56 days is 1 day above the national median of 55 days.
Cite these figures
Click the text to select the whole citation.
Maidstone planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 56 days from application to decision (exactly the eight week target), across 197 decisions with both dates published. 75% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 95% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 72 days. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.