Decision times · East Midlands
How long planning decisions take in Newark and Sherwood
63 days. Ranked 246 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Newark and Sherwood took 63 days from submission to decision — 7 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 391 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Newark and Sherwood compares
Year to September 2026
Newark and Sherwood takes longer than the country as a whole: 7 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 44%.
The average here is 94 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 190 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 172 44%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 92 24%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 127 32%
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.
| Twelve months to | Median days | UK rank |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 63 | 246 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 56 | 180 of 328 |
| September 2025 | 52 | 98 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 52 | 51 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 52 | 51 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 52 | 54 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 52 days, Newark and Sherwood has moved down 148 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.
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Trees 73 decided 33 days
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Conditions 53 decided 56 days
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Amendments 30 decided 60 days
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Lawful development 15 decided 64 days
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Full applications 152 decided 97 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 22 decided 97 days
What Newark and Sherwood decides
Year to September 2026
Newark and Sherwood issued 391 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 94% were approvals: 288 granted against 20 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 Newark and Sherwood?
The median planning application decided by Newark and Sherwood in the year to September 2026 took 63 days from submission to decision, 7 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 391 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 246 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Newark and Sherwood meet the eight week target?
44% of the 391 decisions Newark and Sherwood made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 68% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 190 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Newark and Sherwood faster or slower than average?
Newark and Sherwood is slower than average: its median of 63 days is 7 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is Newark and Sherwood getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 52 days, Newark and Sherwood has moved down 148 places in the table. Its median has risen by 11 days.
What proportion of applications does Newark and Sherwood approve?
94% of the clear-cut outcomes Newark and Sherwood issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 288 granted against 20 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Newark and Sherwood planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 63 days from application to decision (7 days beyond the eight week target), across 391 decisions with both dates published. 44% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 68% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 190 days. Ranked 246 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 94% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.