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Decision times · South East

How long planning decisions take in Tonbridge and Malling

63 days. Ranked 238 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Tonbridge and Malling took 63 days from submission to decision — 7 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,881 decisions where the council published both dates.

63 days
Median decision 7 days beyond the eight week target
238 of 343
UK rank down 224 places in a year
42%
Within eight weeks 77% within thirteen
130 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Tonbridge and Malling compares

Year to September 2026

Tonbridge and Malling 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 78 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 130 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 794 42%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 654 35%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 433 23%

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.

Tonbridge and Malling: median days from application to decision, by rolling twelve month window. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.
Twelve months to Median days UK rank
September 2026 63 238 of 343
June 2026 58 214 of 328
March 2026 56 155 of 243
December 2025 52 119 of 236
September 2025 29 14 of 324
March 2025 660 315 of 315
December 2024 638 319 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 29 days, Tonbridge and Malling has moved down 224 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.

  1. Amendments 79 decided 39 days
  2. Trees 430 decided 41 days
  3. Other 12 decided 45 days
  4. Householder 244 decided 56 days
  5. Prior approval 107 decided 56 days
  6. Conditions 17 decided 58 days
  7. Lawful development 208 decided 64 days
  8. Heritage and listed buildings 114 decided 66 days
  9. Outline 208 decided 69 days
  10. Advertising 21 decided 71 days
  11. Full applications 428 decided 86 days

How these types compare nationally

What Tonbridge and Malling decides

Year to September 2026

Tonbridge and Malling issued 1,881 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 95% were approvals: 1,466 granted against 82 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 Tonbridge and Malling?

The median planning application decided by Tonbridge and Malling in the year to September 2026 took 63 days from submission to decision, 7 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,881 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 238 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Tonbridge and Malling meet the eight week target?

42% of the 1,881 decisions Tonbridge and Malling made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 77% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 130 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Tonbridge and Malling faster or slower than average?

Tonbridge and Malling is slower than average: its median of 63 days is 7 days above the national median of 56 days.

Is Tonbridge and Malling getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 29 days, Tonbridge and Malling has moved down 224 places in the table. Its median has risen by 34 days.

What proportion of applications does Tonbridge and Malling approve?

95% of the clear-cut outcomes Tonbridge and Malling issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 1,466 granted against 82 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

Tonbridge and Malling planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 63 days from application to decision (7 days beyond the eight week target), across 1,881 decisions with both dates published. 42% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 77% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 130 days. Ranked 238 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 95% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.