Decision times · East of England
How long planning decisions take in South Cambridgeshire
55 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by South Cambridgeshire took 55 days from submission to decision — 1 day inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,309 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 South Cambridgeshire compares
Year to December 2026
South Cambridgeshire decides faster than the country as a whole: 2 days below the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 55%.
The average here is 85 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 179 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 724 55%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 263 20%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 322 25%
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 225 decided 38 days
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Prior approval 23 decided 45 days
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Conditions 334 decided 54 days
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Householder 255 decided 55 days
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Lawful development 40 decided 55 days
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Amendments 98 decided 56 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 78 decided 61 days
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Telecoms 50 decided 87 days
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Outline 21 decided 136 days
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Full applications 155 decided 143 days
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Reserved matters 20 decided 152 days
What South Cambridgeshire decides
Year to December 2026
South Cambridgeshire issued 1,309 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 94% were approvals: 1,077 granted against 68 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 South Cambridgeshire?
The median planning application decided by South Cambridgeshire in the year to December 2026 took 55 days from submission to decision, 1 day inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,309 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does South Cambridgeshire meet the eight week target?
55% of the 1,309 decisions South Cambridgeshire made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 75% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 179 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is South Cambridgeshire faster or slower than average?
South Cambridgeshire is faster than average: its median of 55 days is 2 days below the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does South Cambridgeshire approve?
94% of the clear-cut outcomes South Cambridgeshire issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 1,077 granted against 68 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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South Cambridgeshire planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 55 days from application to decision (1 day inside the eight week target), across 1,309 decisions with both dates published. 55% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 75% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 179 days. 94% 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/south-cambridgeshire">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>