Decision times · Yorkshire and The Humber
How long planning decisions take in Wakefield
98 days. Ranked 325 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Wakefield took 98 days from submission to decision — 42 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 210 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Wakefield compares
Year to September 2026
Wakefield takes longer than the country as a whole: 42 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 20%.
The average here is 132 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 266 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 43 20%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 57 27%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 110 52%
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 | 98 | 325 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 60 | 234 of 328 |
| September 2025 | 66 | 260 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 66 | 236 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 66 | 243 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 66 | 248 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 66 days, Wakefield has moved down 65 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.
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Trees 13 decided 51 days
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Lawful development 11 decided 76 days
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Conditions 22 decided 95 days
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Full applications 114 decided 107 days
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Amendments 16 decided 116 days
What Wakefield decides
Year to September 2026
Wakefield issued 210 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 88% were approvals: 154 granted against 21 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 Wakefield?
The median planning application decided by Wakefield in the year to September 2026 took 98 days from submission to decision, 42 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 210 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 325 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Wakefield meet the eight week target?
20% of the 210 decisions Wakefield made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 48% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 266 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Wakefield faster or slower than average?
Wakefield is slower than average: its median of 98 days is 42 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is Wakefield getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 66 days, Wakefield has moved down 65 places in the table. Its median has risen by 32 days.
What proportion of applications does Wakefield approve?
88% of the clear-cut outcomes Wakefield issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 154 granted against 21 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Wakefield planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 98 days from application to decision (42 days beyond the eight week target), across 210 decisions with both dates published. 20% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 48% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 266 days. Ranked 325 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 88% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.