Decision times · West Midlands
How long planning decisions take in Sandwell
61 days. Ranked 226 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Sandwell took 61 days from submission to decision — 5 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 530 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Sandwell compares
Year to September 2026
Sandwell takes longer than the country as a whole: 5 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 40%.
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, 128 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 214 40%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 192 36%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 124 23%
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.
| Twelve months to | Median days | UK rank |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 61 | 226 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 63 | 257 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 63 | 202 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 59 | 188 of 236 |
| September 2025 | 72 | 282 of 324 |
| December 2024 | 56 | 153 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 72 days, Sandwell has moved up 56 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.
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Prior approval 73 decided 37 days
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Conditions 48 decided 53 days
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Advertising 19 decided 58 days
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Lawful development 43 decided 60 days
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Householder 212 decided 65 days
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Full applications 106 decided 96 days
What Sandwell decides
Year to September 2026
Sandwell issued 530 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 88% were approvals: 366 granted against 49 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 September 2026 took 61 days from submission to decision, 5 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 530 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 226 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Sandwell meet the eight week target?
40% of the 530 decisions Sandwell made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 77% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 128 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 61 days is 5 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is Sandwell getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 72 days, Sandwell has moved up 56 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 11 days.
What proportion of applications does Sandwell approve?
88% of the clear-cut outcomes Sandwell issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 366 granted against 49 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 September 2026: median 61 days from application to decision (5 days beyond the eight week target), across 530 decisions with both dates published. 40% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 77% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 128 days. Ranked 226 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 88% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.