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Decision times · South East

How long planning decisions take in South Oxfordshire

55 days.

In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by South Oxfordshire took 55 days from submission to decision — 1 day inside the eight week target. That is measured across 2,343 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.

55 days
Median decision 1 day inside the eight week target
56%
Within eight weeks 84% within thirteen
113 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How South Oxfordshire compares

Year to December 2026

South Oxfordshire 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 56%.

The average here is 76 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 113 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 1,309 56%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 653 28%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 381 16%

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. Trees 524 decided 21 days
  2. Telecoms 43 decided 22 days
  3. Other 91 decided 35 days
  4. Amendments 108 decided 45 days
  5. Prior approval 20 decided 45 days
  6. Advertising 19 decided 57 days
  7. Lawful development 133 decided 57 days
  8. Outline 44 decided 59 days
  9. Conditions 441 decided 60 days
  10. Heritage and listed buildings 136 decided 62 days
  11. Householder 567 decided 62 days
  12. Full applications 199 decided 92 days

How these types compare nationally

What South Oxfordshire decides

Year to December 2026

South Oxfordshire issued 2,409 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 93% were approvals: 1,585 granted against 113 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 Oxfordshire?

The median planning application decided by South Oxfordshire in the year to December 2026 took 55 days from submission to decision, 1 day inside the eight week target. That is measured across 2,343 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.

Does South Oxfordshire meet the eight week target?

56% of the 2,343 decisions South Oxfordshire made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 84% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 113 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 Oxfordshire faster or slower than average?

South Oxfordshire 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 Oxfordshire approve?

93% of the clear-cut outcomes South Oxfordshire issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 1,585 granted against 113 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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South Oxfordshire planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 55 days from application to decision (1 day inside the eight week target), across 2,343 decisions with both dates published. 56% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 84% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 113 days. 93% 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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