Decision times · West Midlands
How long planning decisions take in Malvern Hills
56 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Malvern Hills took 56 days from submission to decision — exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 441 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 Malvern Hills compares
Year to December 2026
Malvern Hills decides faster than the country as a whole: 1 day below the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 52%.
The average here is 102 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 244 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 228 52%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 80 18%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 133 30%
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.
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Trees 62 decided 21 days
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Amendments 12 decided 28 days
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Other 18 decided 31 days
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Lawful development 30 decided 56 days
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Conditions 89 decided 59 days
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Householder 91 decided 69 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 30 decided 84 days
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Full applications 84 decided 105 days
What Malvern Hills decides
Year to December 2026
Malvern Hills issued 441 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 88% were approvals: 345 granted against 45 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 Malvern Hills?
The median planning application decided by Malvern Hills in the year to December 2026 took 56 days from submission to decision, exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 441 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Malvern Hills meet the eight week target?
52% of the 441 decisions Malvern Hills made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 70% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 244 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Malvern Hills faster or slower than average?
Malvern Hills is faster than average: its median of 56 days is 1 day below the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Malvern Hills approve?
88% of the clear-cut outcomes Malvern Hills issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 345 granted against 45 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Malvern Hills planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 56 days from application to decision (exactly the eight week target), across 441 decisions with both dates published. 52% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 70% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 244 days. 88% 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/malvern-hills">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>