Planning FAQ
How long does planning permission take?
8 weeks statutory determination from validation. Plus 1-2 weeks validation. Plus 1-3 weeks design. Total: 12-14 weeks first-call to decision.
8 weeks statutory determination from validation. Plus 1-2 weeks validation. Plus 1-3 weeks design. Total: 12-14 weeks first-call to decision.
A householder application must be determined within eight weeks of validation. Major development gets thirteen weeks, and larger home extension prior approval six. Add one to two weeks for validation, and four to eight more if the application is referred to planning committee.
Validation takes a few days to two weeks, and the eight-week clock only starts once the application is valid. Neighbour consultation runs 21 days from notification. The officer then assesses, consults internal specialists and writes the report, and the decision is issued — usually in weeks six to eight.
An incomplete submission is the commonest cause of delay: an application missing a heritage statement or carrying unscaled drawings simply sits until the item arrives, and the clock has not started.
You can appeal for non-determination, or agree an extension of time. In practice agreeing an extension is almost always better: a non-determination appeal takes the case away from an officer who may be close to approving and gives it to an inspector months later.
For a typical London extension: two to four weeks for survey and drawings, one to two weeks for validation, eight weeks for determination, then two to four weeks to discharge any pre-commencement conditions. Building regulations run in parallel, with a full plans application decided in five weeks.
Our drawing turnaround is 14 to 20 working days for the Essentials and loft packages and 20 to 28 for the Complete package.
Not the statutory period, but the elapsed time can be shortened: submit a complete and accurate application, speak to the neighbours before the consultation letters land so objections do not trigger a committee referral, and run the building regulations submission alongside rather than after planning.
How how long does planning permission take? plays out in Hackney: London Borough of Hackney (Hackney Council) maintains 29 conservation areas, the De Beauvoir Town Conservation Area and the Stoke Newington Conservation Area among them, and an Article 4 direction is in force there, so permitted development cannot be assumed. Anyone dealing with how long does planning permission take? at a Hackney address is therefore working to a £548 householder application decided in 8 weeks, or a £249 prior approval over 6 weeks where how long does planning permission take? still qualifies. are the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the GPDO 2015 and the Building Regulations 2010.
| Householder determination | 8 weeks |
|---|---|
| Major development | 13 weeks |
| Prior approval | 6 weeks |
| Neighbour consultation | 21 days |
| Full plans building control | 5 weeks |
| Our drawing turnaround | 14–20 working days |
At validation, not at submission.
Typically four to eight weeks, because the case must wait for a meeting date.
Not on anything requiring the permission. Doing so risks enforcement.
Pick a slot that suits you. No obligation and no sales pressure, just straight answers on your planning route.
