Decision times · East Midlands
How long planning decisions take in South Derbyshire
69 days. Ranked 272 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by South Derbyshire took 69 days from submission to decision — 13 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 269 decisions where the council published both dates.
How South Derbyshire compares
Year to September 2026
South Derbyshire takes longer than the country as a whole: 13 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 35%.
The average here is 103 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 199 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 94 35%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 85 32%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 90 33%
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 | 69 | 272 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 68 | 275 of 328 |
| September 2025 | 57 | 193 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 60 | 189 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 61 | 200 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 61 | 208 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 57 days, South Derbyshire has moved down 79 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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Trees 54 decided 44 days
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Conditions 60 decided 65 days
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Amendments 15 decided 73 days
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Householder 66 decided 82 days
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Full applications 39 decided 109 days
What South Derbyshire decides
Year to September 2026
South Derbyshire issued 269 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 91% were approvals: 233 granted against 23 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 Derbyshire?
The median planning application decided by South Derbyshire in the year to September 2026 took 69 days from submission to decision, 13 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 269 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 272 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does South Derbyshire meet the eight week target?
35% of the 269 decisions South Derbyshire made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 67% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 199 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 Derbyshire faster or slower than average?
South Derbyshire is slower than average: its median of 69 days is 13 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is South Derbyshire getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 57 days, South Derbyshire has moved down 79 places in the table. Its median has risen by 12 days.
What proportion of applications does South Derbyshire approve?
91% of the clear-cut outcomes South Derbyshire issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 233 granted against 23 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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South Derbyshire planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 69 days from application to decision (13 days beyond the eight week target), across 269 decisions with both dates published. 35% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 67% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 199 days. Ranked 272 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 91% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.