Decision times · North East
How long planning decisions take in Stockton-on-Tees
60 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Stockton-on-Tees took 60 days from submission to decision — 4 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 386 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 Stockton-on-Tees compares
Year to December 2026
Stockton-on-Tees takes longer than the country as a whole: 3 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 44%.
The average here is 85 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 168 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 168 44%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 115 30%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 103 27%
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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Telecoms 37 decided 30 days
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Prior approval 11 decided 40 days
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Trees 27 decided 51 days
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Conditions 50 decided 56 days
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Lawful development 17 decided 59 days
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Amendments 29 decided 60 days
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Advertising 18 decided 65 days
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Full applications 159 decided 76 days
What Stockton-on-Tees decides
Year to December 2026
Stockton-on-Tees issued 386 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 96% were approvals: 338 granted against 14 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 Stockton-on-Tees?
The median planning application decided by Stockton-on-Tees in the year to December 2026 took 60 days from submission to decision, 4 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 386 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Stockton-on-Tees meet the eight week target?
44% of the 386 decisions Stockton-on-Tees made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 73% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 168 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Stockton-on-Tees faster or slower than average?
Stockton-on-Tees is slower than average: its median of 60 days is 3 days above the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Stockton-on-Tees approve?
96% of the clear-cut outcomes Stockton-on-Tees issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 338 granted against 14 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Stockton-on-Tees planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 60 days from application to decision (4 days beyond the eight week target), across 386 decisions with both dates published. 44% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 73% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 168 days. 96% 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/stockton-on-tees">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>