Decision times · South East
How long planning decisions take in Portsmouth
59 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Portsmouth took 59 days from submission to decision — 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 279 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 Portsmouth compares
Year to December 2026
Portsmouth takes longer than the country as a whole: 2 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 44%.
The average here is 75 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 145 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 123 44%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 88 32%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 68 24%
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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Amendments 24 decided 29 days
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Prior approval 26 decided 51 days
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Trees 12 decided 55 days
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Advertising 21 decided 57 days
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Lawful development 30 decided 57 days
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Conditions 18 decided 59 days
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Householder 51 decided 65 days
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Full applications 80 decided 78 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 11 decided 94 days
What Portsmouth decides
Year to December 2026
Portsmouth issued 279 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 85% were approvals: 227 granted against 39 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 Portsmouth?
The median planning application decided by Portsmouth in the year to December 2026 took 59 days from submission to decision, 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 279 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Portsmouth meet the eight week target?
44% of the 279 decisions Portsmouth made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 76% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 145 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Portsmouth faster or slower than average?
Portsmouth is slower than average: its median of 59 days is 2 days above the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Portsmouth approve?
85% of the clear-cut outcomes Portsmouth issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 227 granted against 39 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Portsmouth planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 59 days from application to decision (3 days beyond the eight week target), across 279 decisions with both dates published. 44% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 76% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 145 days. 85% 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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