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Decision times · East of England

How long planning decisions take in South Norfolk

50 days. Ranked 34 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by South Norfolk took 50 days from submission to decision — 6 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 2,699 decisions where the council published both dates.

50 days
Median decision 6 days inside the eight week target
34 of 343
UK rank down 27 places in a year
63%
Within eight weeks 84% within thirteen
121 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How South Norfolk compares

Year to September 2026

South Norfolk decides faster than the country as a whole: 6 days below the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 63%.

The average here is 65 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 121 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 1,688 63%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 574 21%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 437 16%

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.

South Norfolk: 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 50 34 of 343
June 2026 47 28 of 328
March 2026 41 15 of 243
December 2025 34 11 of 236
September 2025 25 7 of 324
June 2025 51 48 of 313
March 2025 51 48 of 315
December 2024 51 52 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 25 days, South Norfolk has moved down 27 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 747 decided 26 days
  2. Other 46 decided 27 days
  3. Prior approval 23 decided 38 days
  4. Amendments 252 decided 46 days
  5. Conditions 369 decided 46 days
  6. Lawful development 83 decided 54 days
  7. Householder 656 decided 57 days
  8. Advertising 16 decided 60 days
  9. Heritage and listed buildings 172 decided 66 days
  10. Outline 65 decided 92 days
  11. Full applications 256 decided 103 days

How these types compare nationally

What South Norfolk decides

Year to September 2026

South Norfolk issued 2,699 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 95% were approvals: 2,302 granted against 115 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 Norfolk?

The median planning application decided by South Norfolk in the year to September 2026 took 50 days from submission to decision, 6 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 2,699 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 34 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does South Norfolk meet the eight week target?

63% of the 2,699 decisions South Norfolk made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 84% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 121 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 Norfolk faster or slower than average?

South Norfolk is faster than average: its median of 50 days is 6 days below the national median of 56 days.

Is South Norfolk getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 25 days, South Norfolk has moved down 27 places in the table. Its median has risen by 25 days.

What proportion of applications does South Norfolk approve?

95% of the clear-cut outcomes South Norfolk issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 2,302 granted against 115 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

South Norfolk planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 50 days from application to decision (6 days inside the eight week target), across 2,699 decisions with both dates published. 63% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 84% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 121 days. Ranked 34 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 95% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.