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Decision times · South East

How long planning decisions take in Tunbridge Wells

54 days. Ranked 81 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Tunbridge Wells took 54 days from submission to decision — 2 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,559 decisions where the council published both dates.

54 days
Median decision 2 days inside the eight week target
81 of 343
UK rank down 79 places in a year
60%
Within eight weeks 90% within thirteen
91 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Tunbridge Wells compares

Year to September 2026

Tunbridge Wells decides faster than the country as a whole: 2 days below the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 60%.

The average here is 59 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 91 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 936 60%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 472 30%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 151 10%

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.

Tunbridge Wells: 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 54 81 of 343
June 2026 53 82 of 328
March 2026 51 77 of 243
December 2025 49 85 of 236
September 2025 18 2 of 324
June 2025 59 184 of 313
March 2025 59 187 of 315
December 2024 59 197 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 18 days, Tunbridge Wells has moved down 79 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. Telecoms 35 decided 17 days
  2. Outline 18 decided 25 days
  3. Amendments 46 decided 27 days
  4. Other 20 decided 28 days
  5. Trees 414 decided 38 days
  6. Conditions 174 decided 51 days
  7. Prior approval 21 decided 53 days
  8. Lawful development 77 decided 55 days
  9. Heritage and listed buildings 121 decided 57 days
  10. Advertising 26 decided 59 days
  11. Full applications 589 decided 59 days

How these types compare nationally

What Tunbridge Wells decides

Year to September 2026

Tunbridge Wells issued 1,559 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 95% were approvals: 1,421 granted against 69 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 September 2026 took 54 days from submission to decision, 2 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,559 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 81 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Tunbridge Wells meet the eight week target?

60% of the 1,559 decisions Tunbridge Wells made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 90% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 91 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 54 days is 2 days below the national median of 56 days.

Is Tunbridge Wells getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 18 days, Tunbridge Wells has moved down 79 places in the table. Its median has risen by 36 days.

What proportion of applications does Tunbridge Wells approve?

95% of the clear-cut outcomes Tunbridge Wells issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 1,421 granted against 69 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

Tunbridge Wells planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 54 days from application to decision (2 days inside the eight week target), across 1,559 decisions with both dates published. 60% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 90% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 91 days. Ranked 81 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 95% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.