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Decision times · Yorkshire and The Humber

How long planning decisions take in York

58 days. Ranked 197 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by York took 58 days from submission to decision — 2 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,753 decisions where the council published both dates.

58 days
Median decision 2 days beyond the eight week target
197 of 343
UK rank down 7 places in a year
43%
Within eight weeks 80% within thirteen
123 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How York compares

Year to September 2026

York takes longer than the country as a whole: 2 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 43%.

The average here is 72 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 123 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 748 43%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 658 38%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 347 20%

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.

York: 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 58 197 of 343
June 2026 57 195 of 328
March 2026 57 177 of 243
December 2025 55 159 of 236
September 2025 57 190 of 324
June 2025 60 191 of 313
March 2025 62 212 of 315
December 2024 68 256 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 57 days, York has moved down 7 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 165 decided 24 days
  2. Amendments 46 decided 28 days
  3. Householder 17 decided 38 days
  4. Conditions 241 decided 47 days
  5. Other 20 decided 55 days
  6. Trees 315 decided 55 days
  7. Prior approval 10 decided 56 days
  8. Lawful development 105 decided 57 days
  9. Advertising 54 decided 63 days
  10. Full applications 660 decided 68 days
  11. Heritage and listed buildings 98 decided 83 days

How these types compare nationally

What York decides

Year to September 2026

York issued 1,753 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 89% were approvals: 1,464 granted against 175 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 York?

The median planning application decided by York in the year to September 2026 took 58 days from submission to decision, 2 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 1,753 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 197 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does York meet the eight week target?

43% of the 1,753 decisions York made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 80% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 123 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is York faster or slower than average?

York is slower than average: its median of 58 days is 2 days above the national median of 56 days.

Is York getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 57 days, York has moved down 7 places in the table. Its median has risen by 1 day.

What proportion of applications does York approve?

89% of the clear-cut outcomes York issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 1,464 granted against 175 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

York planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 58 days from application to decision (2 days beyond the eight week target), across 1,753 decisions with both dates published. 43% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 80% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 123 days. Ranked 197 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 89% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.