Decision times · South East
How long planning decisions take in Reading
61 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Reading took 61 days from submission to decision — 5 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 955 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 Reading compares
Year to December 2026
Reading takes longer than the country as a whole: 4 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 89 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 160 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 420 44%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 261 27%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 274 29%
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 134 decided 36 days
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Prior approval 52 decided 43 days
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Amendments 72 decided 54 days
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Conditions 123 decided 56 days
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Lawful development 100 decided 64 days
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Advertising 30 decided 70 days
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Householder 225 decided 72 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 50 decided 76 days
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Full applications 161 decided 90 days
What Reading decides
Year to December 2026
Reading issued 955 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 89% were approvals: 665 granted against 83 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 Reading?
The median planning application decided by Reading in the year to December 2026 took 61 days from submission to decision, 5 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 955 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Reading meet the eight week target?
44% of the 955 decisions Reading made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 71% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 160 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Reading faster or slower than average?
Reading is slower than average: its median of 61 days is 4 days above the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Reading approve?
89% of the clear-cut outcomes Reading issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 665 granted against 83 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Reading planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 61 days from application to decision (5 days beyond the eight week target), across 955 decisions with both dates published. 44% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 71% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 160 days. 89% 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/reading">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>