How long does planning take?
Slower every year, faster never
Summary
Planning applications take roughly 10–12 months on average to get a decision, and processing times have been getting slower over the past decade despite no increase in application volumes.
Key findings
Average processing time (reception → decision, PA applications)
| Year | Decided cases | Avg days | ~Months |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6,602 | 231 | 7.7 |
| 2002 | 6,704 | 169 | 5.6 ← fastest |
| 2005 | 7,759 | 232 | 7.7 |
| 2007 | 7,131 | 307 | 10.2 |
| 2010 | 5,007 | 338 | 11.3 |
| 2013 | 3,542 | 304 | 10.1 |
| 2016 | 6,268 | 270 | 9.0 |
| 2018 | 6,613 | 277 | 9.2 |
| 2020 | 5,810 | 317 | 10.6 |
| 2022 | 5,537 | 369 | 12.3 ← slowest |
| 2023 | 5,308 | 365 | 12.2 |
| 2024 | 5,412 | 311 | 10.4 |
Two eras
- 2000–2006: Processing averaged 170–250 days (6–8 months)
- 2007–present: Processing jumped to 270–370 days (9–12 months)
The system roughly doubled its processing time around 2007–2008 and has never recovered.
2022–2023: the peak
The slowest years on record were 2022–2023, averaging 365–369 days — a full year from submission to decision. This despite handling fewer cases (~5,500) than the mid-2000s (~7,000+).
Outliers
Some cases have taken close to 10 years to resolve (max ~3,600 days in several years), though these extremes have reduced in recent years.
Why this matters
For residents and developers, a year-long wait for a planning decision is a significant burden. The system is processing fewer cases more slowly than it did 20 years ago.