Decision times · East of England
How long planning decisions take in Southend-on-Sea
59 days. Ranked 212 of 343.
In the year to September 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 445 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Southend-on-Sea compares
Year to September 2026
Southend-on-Sea takes longer than the country as a whole: 3 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 46%.
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, 123 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 204 46%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 154 35%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 87 20%
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 | 59 | 212 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 58 | 219 of 328 |
| September 2025 | 60 | 220 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 60 | 190 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 60 | 193 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 60 | 202 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 60 days, Southend-on-Sea has moved up 8 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 22 decided 55 days
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Lawful development 67 decided 56 days
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Amendments 28 decided 58 days
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Householder 103 decided 61 days
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Conditions 65 decided 62 days
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Advertising 18 decided 65 days
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Full applications 106 decided 81 days
What Southend-on-Sea decides
Year to September 2026
Southend-on-Sea issued 445 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 88% were approvals: 376 granted against 50 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 September 2026 took 59 days from submission to decision, 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 445 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 212 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Southend-on-Sea meet the eight week target?
46% of the 445 decisions Southend-on-Sea made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 80% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 123 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 3 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is Southend-on-Sea getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 60 days, Southend-on-Sea has moved up 8 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 1 day.
What proportion of applications does Southend-on-Sea approve?
88% of the clear-cut outcomes Southend-on-Sea issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 376 granted against 50 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
Click the text to select the whole citation.
Southend-on-Sea planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 59 days from application to decision (3 days beyond the eight week target), across 445 decisions with both dates published. 46% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 80% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 123 days. Ranked 212 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 88% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.