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Decision times · South East

How long planning decisions take in Reading

56 days. Ranked 142 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Reading took 56 days from submission to decision — exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 1,108 decisions where the council published both dates.

56 days
Median decision exactly the eight week target
142 of 343
UK rank up 52 places in a year
51%
Within eight weeks 78% within thirteen
136 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Reading compares

Year to September 2026

Reading sits exactly on the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 51%.

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, 136 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 562 51%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 302 27%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 244 22%

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.

Reading: 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 56 142 of 343
June 2026 56 165 of 328
March 2026 56 166 of 243
December 2025 49 92 of 236
September 2025 57 194 of 324
June 2025 59 181 of 313
March 2025 59 184 of 315
December 2024 59 191 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 57 days, Reading has moved up 52 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. Trees 177 decided 34 days
  2. Prior approval 66 decided 43 days
  3. Amendments 79 decided 52 days
  4. Conditions 146 decided 55 days
  5. Advertising 46 decided 59 days
  6. Householder 239 decided 62 days
  7. Lawful development 104 decided 63 days
  8. Heritage and listed buildings 61 decided 76 days
  9. Full applications 174 decided 78 days

How these types compare nationally

What Reading decides

Year to September 2026

Reading issued 1,108 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 85% were approvals: 649 granted against 118 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 September 2026 took 56 days from submission to decision, exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 1,108 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 142 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Reading meet the eight week target?

51% of the 1,108 decisions Reading made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 78% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 136 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 sits exactly on the national median of 56 days.

Is Reading getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 57 days, Reading has moved up 52 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 1 day.

What proportion of applications does Reading approve?

85% of the clear-cut outcomes Reading issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 649 granted against 118 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

Reading planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 56 days from application to decision (exactly the eight week target), across 1,108 decisions with both dates published. 51% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 78% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 136 days. Ranked 142 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 85% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.