Decision times · East of England
How long planning decisions take in St Albans
63 days. Ranked 243 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by St Albans took 63 days from submission to decision — 7 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 776 decisions where the council published both dates.
How St Albans compares
Year to September 2026
St Albans takes longer than the country as a whole: 7 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 42%.
The average here is 89 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 159 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 328 42%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 231 30%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 217 28%
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 | 63 | 243 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 63 | 254 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 67 | 212 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 74 | 214 of 236 |
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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Prior approval 33 decided 41 days
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Amendments 19 decided 48 days
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Trees 207 decided 50 days
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Conditions 85 decided 64 days
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Lawful development 76 decided 68 days
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Householder 192 decided 90 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 19 decided 91 days
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Full applications 11 decided 147 days
What St Albans decides
Year to September 2026
St Albans issued 776 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 82% were approvals: 350 granted against 76 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 St Albans?
The median planning application decided by St Albans in the year to September 2026 took 63 days from submission to decision, 7 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 776 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 243 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does St Albans meet the eight week target?
42% of the 776 decisions St Albans made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 72% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 159 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is St Albans faster or slower than average?
St Albans is slower than average: its median of 63 days is 7 days above the national median of 56 days.
What proportion of applications does St Albans approve?
82% of the clear-cut outcomes St Albans issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 350 granted against 76 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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St Albans planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 63 days from application to decision (7 days beyond the eight week target), across 776 decisions with both dates published. 42% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 72% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 159 days. Ranked 243 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 82% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.