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Decision times · West Midlands

How long planning decisions take in Sandwell

66 days.

In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Sandwell took 66 days from submission to decision — 10 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 510 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.

66 days
Median decision 10 days beyond the eight week target
39%
Within eight weeks 72% within thirteen
143 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Sandwell compares

Year to December 2026

Sandwell takes longer than the country as a whole: 9 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 39%.

The average here is 87 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 143 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 197 39%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 172 34%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 141 28%

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.

  1. Prior approval 74 decided 37 days
  2. Conditions 51 decided 56 days
  3. Lawful development 36 decided 62 days
  4. Advertising 15 decided 64 days
  5. Householder 194 decided 71 days
  6. Full applications 111 decided 108 days

How these types compare nationally

What Sandwell decides

Year to December 2026

Sandwell issued 510 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 89% were approvals: 396 granted against 47 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 Sandwell?

The median planning application decided by Sandwell in the year to December 2026 took 66 days from submission to decision, 10 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 510 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.

Does Sandwell meet the eight week target?

39% of the 510 decisions Sandwell made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 72% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 143 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Sandwell faster or slower than average?

Sandwell is slower than average: its median of 66 days is 9 days above the national median of 57 days.

What proportion of applications does Sandwell approve?

89% of the clear-cut outcomes Sandwell issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 396 granted against 47 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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Sandwell planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 66 days from application to decision (10 days beyond the eight week target), across 510 decisions with both dates published. 39% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 72% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 143 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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