Decision times · South East
How long planning decisions take in Tunbridge Wells
55 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Tunbridge Wells took 55 days from submission to decision — 1 day inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,521 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 Tunbridge Wells compares
Year to December 2026
Tunbridge Wells decides faster than the country as a whole: 2 days below the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 58%.
The average here is 62 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 102 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 884 58%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 444 29%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 193 13%
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 29 decided 17 days
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Amendments 29 decided 28 days
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Other 16 decided 28 days
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Trees 333 decided 39 days
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Prior approval 19 decided 51 days
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Conditions 137 decided 54 days
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Outline 14 decided 55 days
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Lawful development 71 decided 56 days
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Full applications 606 decided 59 days
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Advertising 25 decided 60 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 118 decided 61 days
What Tunbridge Wells decides
Year to December 2026
Tunbridge Wells issued 1,521 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 94% were approvals: 1,369 granted against 80 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 Tunbridge Wells?
The median planning application decided by Tunbridge Wells in the year to December 2026 took 55 days from submission to decision, 1 day inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,521 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Tunbridge Wells meet the eight week target?
58% of the 1,521 decisions Tunbridge Wells made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 87% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 102 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Tunbridge Wells faster or slower than average?
Tunbridge Wells is faster than average: its median of 55 days is 2 days below the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Tunbridge Wells approve?
94% of the clear-cut outcomes Tunbridge Wells issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 1,369 granted against 80 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
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Tunbridge Wells planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 55 days from application to decision (1 day inside the eight week target), across 1,521 decisions with both dates published. 58% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 87% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 102 days. 94% 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/tunbridge-wells">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>