Decision times · East of England
How long planning decisions take in Uttlesford
57 days. Ranked 184 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Uttlesford took 57 days from submission to decision — 1 day beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 630 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Uttlesford compares
Year to September 2026
Uttlesford takes longer than the country as a whole: 1 day above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 49%.
The average here is 70 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 113 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
-
Within eight weeks the statutory target 307 49%
-
Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 213 34%
-
Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 110 17%
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.
| Twelve months to | Median days | UK rank |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 57 | 184 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 56 | 177 of 328 |
| March 2025 | 54 | 80 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 55 | 86 of 319 |
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.
-
Amendments 25 decided 18 days
-
Other 10 decided 34 days
-
Trees 32 decided 48 days
-
Lawful development 35 decided 52 days
-
Conditions 186 decided 55 days
-
Householder 122 decided 58 days
-
Heritage and listed buildings 62 decided 67 days
-
Outline 24 decided 67 days
-
Full applications 119 decided 76 days
What Uttlesford decides
Year to September 2026
Uttlesford issued 630 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 73% were approvals: 326 granted against 123 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 Uttlesford?
The median planning application decided by Uttlesford in the year to September 2026 took 57 days from submission to decision, 1 day beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 630 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 184 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Uttlesford meet the eight week target?
49% of the 630 decisions Uttlesford made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 83% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 113 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Uttlesford faster or slower than average?
Uttlesford is slower than average: its median of 57 days is 1 day above the national median of 56 days.
What proportion of applications does Uttlesford approve?
73% of the clear-cut outcomes Uttlesford issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 326 granted against 123 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
Click the text to select the whole citation.
Uttlesford planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 57 days from application to decision (1 day beyond the eight week target), across 630 decisions with both dates published. 49% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 83% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 113 days. Ranked 184 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 73% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.