Decision times · South West
How long planning decisions take in Torbay
66 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Torbay took 66 days from submission to decision — 10 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 621 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 Torbay compares
Year to December 2026
Torbay takes longer than the country as a whole: 9 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 36%.
The average here is 80 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 146 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
-
Within eight weeks the statutory target 221 36%
-
Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 212 34%
-
Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 188 30%
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.
-
Telecoms 29 decided 27 days
-
Trees 214 decided 53 days
-
Amendments 53 decided 62 days
-
Prior approval 12 decided 67 days
-
Heritage and listed buildings 15 decided 82 days
-
Advertising 10 decided 83 days
-
Lawful development 30 decided 84 days
-
Householder 164 decided 93 days
-
Full applications 79 decided 119 days
What Torbay decides
Year to December 2026
Torbay issued 621 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 80% were approvals: 427 granted against 104 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 Torbay?
The median planning application decided by Torbay in the year to December 2026 took 66 days from submission to decision, 10 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 621 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Torbay meet the eight week target?
36% of the 621 decisions Torbay made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 70% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 146 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Torbay faster or slower than average?
Torbay is slower than average: its median of 66 days is 9 days above the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Torbay approve?
80% of the clear-cut outcomes Torbay issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 427 granted against 104 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
Click the text to select the whole citation.
Torbay planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 66 days from application to decision (10 days beyond the eight week target), across 621 decisions with both dates published. 36% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 70% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 146 days. 80% 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).
Embed these figures
Paste either snippet into your page. Click a snippet to select all of it. The credit line is part of the embed.
<script src="https://planindex.co.uk/embed/decision-times.js" data-council="torbay" defer></script>If your CMS strips scripts, use the frame directly:
<iframe src="https://planindex.co.uk/embed/decision-times/torbay" title="Planning decision times in Torbay" width="100%" height="215" loading="lazy" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<p>Data: <a href="https://planindex.co.uk/planning-decision-times/torbay">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>