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Decision times · South East

How long planning decisions take in West Berkshire

59 days. Ranked 207 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by West Berkshire took 59 days from submission to decision — 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,551 decisions where the council published both dates.

59 days
Median decision 3 days beyond the eight week target
207 of 343
UK rank First measured window
45%
Within eight weeks 83% within thirteen
110 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How West Berkshire compares

Year to September 2026

West Berkshire takes longer than the country as a whole: 3 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 45%.

The average here is 65 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 110 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 703 45%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 582 38%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 266 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.

West Berkshire: 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 59 207 of 343
June 2026 57 197 of 328
March 2026 56 162 of 243
December 2025 50 103 of 236

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 83 decided 1 days
  2. Amendments 53 decided 29 days
  3. Other 26 decided 34 days
  4. Trees 287 decided 51 days
  5. Outline 32 decided 54 days
  6. Conditions 253 decided 56 days
  7. Prior approval 21 decided 56 days
  8. Lawful development 117 decided 62 days
  9. Advertising 17 decided 65 days
  10. Householder 408 decided 69 days
  11. Heritage and listed buildings 74 decided 70 days
  12. Full applications 164 decided 84 days

How these types compare nationally

What West Berkshire decides

Year to September 2026

West Berkshire issued 1,551 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 90% were approvals: 1,187 granted against 139 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 West Berkshire?

The median planning application decided by West Berkshire in the year to September 2026 took 59 days from submission to decision, 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,551 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 207 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does West Berkshire meet the eight week target?

45% of the 1,551 decisions West Berkshire 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 110 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is West Berkshire faster or slower than average?

West Berkshire is slower than average: its median of 59 days is 3 days above the national median of 56 days.

What proportion of applications does West Berkshire approve?

90% of the clear-cut outcomes West Berkshire issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 1,187 granted against 139 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

West Berkshire planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 59 days from application to decision (3 days beyond the eight week target), across 1,551 decisions with both dates published. 45% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 83% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 110 days. Ranked 207 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 90% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.