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Decision times · Wales

How long planning decisions take in Newport

64 days. Ranked 249 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Newport took 64 days from submission to decision — 8 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 758 decisions where the council published both dates.

64 days
Median decision 8 days beyond the eight week target
249 of 343
UK rank down 105 places in a year
41%
Within eight weeks 73% within thirteen
140 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Newport compares

Year to September 2026

Newport 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 79 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 140 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 308 41%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 247 33%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 203 27%

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.

Newport: 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 64 249 of 343
June 2026 58 216 of 328
March 2026 57 180 of 243
December 2025 55 165 of 236
September 2025 55 144 of 324
June 2025 62 215 of 313
March 2025 62 218 of 315
December 2024 62 226 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 55 days, Newport has moved down 105 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. Other 11 decided 27 days
  2. Amendments 56 decided 49 days
  3. Trees 33 decided 52 days
  4. Conditions 162 decided 56 days
  5. Advertising 30 decided 57 days
  6. Lawful development 70 decided 59 days
  7. Full applications 367 decided 72 days
  8. Heritage and listed buildings 19 decided 99 days

How these types compare nationally

What Newport decides

Year to September 2026

Newport issued 758 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 80% were approvals: 588 granted against 145 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 Newport?

The median planning application decided by Newport in the year to September 2026 took 64 days from submission to decision, 8 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 758 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 249 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Newport meet the eight week target?

41% of the 758 decisions Newport made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 73% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 140 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Newport faster or slower than average?

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

Is Newport getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 55 days, Newport has moved down 105 places in the table. Its median has risen by 9 days.

What proportion of applications does Newport approve?

80% of the clear-cut outcomes Newport issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 588 granted against 145 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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Newport planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 64 days from application to decision (8 days beyond the eight week target), across 758 decisions with both dates published. 41% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 73% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 140 days. Ranked 249 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 80% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.