Planning decisions in Amber Valley

How long Amber Valley takes to decide a planning application and how many it approves, from the 949 decisions it made in the twelve months to October 2026. Days run from validation to decision, the clock the council reports against; the wait from receipt is shown beside it. Methodology.

50 daysmedian from validation to decision (UK 54); 56 from receipt
65%decided within eight weeks (UK 65%), 80% within thirteen
97%approved (UK 90%): 878 approved, 26 refused, 40 withdrawn
103 of 389UK rank for speed, up 39 places on last year; 32 of 389 for approvals
056 November 2025: 48 days, 85 decisionsNovDecember 2025: 51 days, 62 decisionsDecJanuary 2026: 54 days, 66 decisionsJanFebruary 2026: 45 days, 69 decisionsFebMarch 2026: 56 days, 91 decisionsMarApril 2026: 57 days, 72 decisionsAprMay 2026: 57 days, 83 decisionsMayJune 2026: 52 days, 93 decisionsJunJuly 2026: 58 days, 72 decisionsJulAugust 2026: 58 days, 78 decisionsAugSeptember 2026: 62 days, 94 decisionsSeptOctober 2026: 57 days, 84 decisionsOct
Median days from validation to decision, by month of decision. Dashed line: UK median (54 days). Grid at 56 and 91 days, the eight and thirteen week targets.

By kind of application

KindMedian daysWithin 8 weeksApprovedDecisionsUK rank
Tree works3492%100%14495 of 324
Amendments4673%98%84155 of 358
Listed building consent7643%96%57242 of 316
Lawful development certificates4592%96%5284 of 348
Prior approvals3790%90%42181 of 339

Appeals

9 appeals against Amber Valley decisions were decided by the Planning Inspectorate in the window, 35 for every 100 refusals; 33% were allowed. Every appeal in Amber Valley.

By year

Year decidedMedian daysWithin 8 weeksApprovedDecisions
2016 *3685%96%48
2017 *3579%94%58
2018 *4379%95%121
2019 *4373%86%57
2020 *3589%85%97
2021 *2988%93%75
2022 *3878%86%60
2023 *3980%80%62
2024 *2791%87%54
2025 *3693%100%193
2026 so far5651%97%802

* Years from our archive, which carries no validation date: timed from receipt, so a few days longer than the live years above them.

Past their target date now

Decided in the last three weeks

Built nightly from Amber Valley's planning register. Ranks are among the 389 published councils. See planning applications in Amber Valley, appeals, or get alerts for Amber Valley.

About these figures

How are decision times measured?
Days from the date the council validated the application to the date it decided it, for applications approved or refused in the window. That is the clock councils report against and the official statistics use. Each council’s page also shows the count from receipt, which is what the applicant actually waited. Withdrawn and undecided applications are not timed.
Why do these figures differ from the council’s own?
Councils count an agreed extension of time as decided on time; we treat the calendar as the calendar. Our figures are also live and rolling, where official statistics are quarterly and annual. So a council’s own within-eight-weeks figure will usually sit a little above ours.
What counts as approved?
Approval rate is approvals divided by approvals plus refusals. Withdrawals, and decisions whose outcome the register does not state, are counted in the totals but not in the rate.
Why is a council missing?
A council is published when it has at least 25 timed decisions in the window and its register’s decision data passes our consistency checks. Councils that fail are listed with the reason rather than shown with a number that would mislead.
How often is this updated?
Nightly, from the decisions we collect from every council register we monitor. The window is the twelve months to the last complete month.