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Decision times · South East

How long planning decisions take in Worthing

65 days. Ranked 259 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Worthing took 65 days from submission to decision — 9 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 432 decisions where the council published both dates.

65 days
Median decision 9 days beyond the eight week target
259 of 343
UK rank down 60 places in a year
39%
Within eight weeks 71% within thirteen
150 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Worthing compares

Year to September 2026

Worthing takes longer than the country as a whole: 9 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 39%.

The average here is 87 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 150 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 168 39%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 137 32%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 127 29%

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.

Worthing: 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 65 259 of 343
June 2026 63 255 of 328
March 2026 62 197 of 243
December 2025 54 152 of 236
September 2025 57 199 of 324
June 2025 60 195 of 313
March 2025 60 197 of 315
December 2024 59 194 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 57 days, Worthing has moved down 60 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. Amendments 21 decided 54 days
  2. Lawful development 46 decided 54 days
  3. Householder 136 decided 56 days
  4. Conditions 43 decided 64 days
  5. Full applications 82 decided 72 days
  6. Trees 80 decided 94 days

How these types compare nationally

What Worthing decides

Year to September 2026

Worthing issued 432 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 93% were approvals: 392 granted against 29 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 Worthing?

The median planning application decided by Worthing in the year to September 2026 took 65 days from submission to decision, 9 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 432 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 259 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Worthing meet the eight week target?

39% of the 432 decisions Worthing made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 71% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 150 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is Worthing faster or slower than average?

Worthing is slower than average: its median of 65 days is 9 days above the national median of 56 days.

Is Worthing getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 57 days, Worthing has moved down 60 places in the table. Its median has risen by 8 days.

What proportion of applications does Worthing approve?

93% of the clear-cut outcomes Worthing issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 392 granted against 29 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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Worthing planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 65 days from application to decision (9 days beyond the eight week target), across 432 decisions with both dates published. 39% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 71% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 150 days. Ranked 259 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 93% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.