Decision times · East of England
How long planning decisions take in Southend-on-Sea
59 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Southend-on-Sea took 59 days from submission to decision — 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 597 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 Southend-on-Sea compares
Year to December 2026
Southend-on-Sea takes longer than the country as a whole: 2 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 47%.
The average here is 75 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.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 278 47%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 208 35%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 111 19%
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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Lawful development 81 decided 56 days
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Trees 29 decided 56 days
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Amendments 32 decided 57 days
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Householder 123 decided 59 days
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Conditions 69 decided 60 days
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Advertising 24 decided 65 days
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Full applications 139 decided 79 days
What Southend-on-Sea decides
Year to December 2026
Southend-on-Sea issued 597 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 89% were approvals: 504 granted against 65 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 Southend-on-Sea?
The median planning application decided by Southend-on-Sea in the year to December 2026 took 59 days from submission to decision, 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 597 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Southend-on-Sea meet the eight week target?
47% of the 597 decisions Southend-on-Sea made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 81% 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 Southend-on-Sea faster or slower than average?
Southend-on-Sea is slower than average: its median of 59 days is 2 days above the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Southend-on-Sea approve?
89% of the clear-cut outcomes Southend-on-Sea issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 504 granted against 65 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Southend-on-Sea planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 59 days from application to decision (3 days beyond the eight week target), across 597 decisions with both dates published. 47% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 81% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 121 days. 89% 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/southend-on-sea">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>