Planning decisions in Camden

How long Camden takes to decide a planning application and how many it approves, from the 4,404 decisions it made in the twelve months to September 2026. Days run from validation to decision, the clock the council reports against; the wait from receipt is shown beside it. How the figures are made.

41 daysmedian from validation to decision (UK 54); 42 from receipt
67%decided within eight weeks (UK 66%), 80% within thirteen
96%approved (UK 90%): 3,969 approved, 183 refused, 170 withdrawn
16 of 388UK rank for speed, up 43 places on last year; 66 of 388 for approvals
05691 October 2025: 40 days, 394 decisionsOctNovember 2025: 39 days, 331 decisionsNovDecember 2025: 41 days, 363 decisionsDecJanuary 2026: 42 days, 364 decisionsJanFebruary 2026: 49 days, 363 decisionsFebMarch 2026: 42 days, 362 decisionsMarApril 2026: 95 days, 373 decisionsAprMay 2026: 119 days, 320 decisionsMayJune 2026: 38 days, 363 decisionsJunJuly 2026: 35 days, 427 decisionsJulAugust 2026: 38 days, 358 decisionsAugSeptember 2026: 37 days, 386 decisionsSept
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 works2898%98%1,40355 of 324
Full applications6941%93%924250 of 359
Discharge of conditions4366%99%55152 of 310
Listed building consent5452%95%44246 of 307
Householder applications6441%91%387175 of 200
Amendments4957%99%241194 of 356
Advertisement consent5062%88%22057 of 320
Lawful development certificates4377%94%16769 of 348
Prior approvals *6048%84%34338 of 340

Delegated or committee

RouteShareMedian daysApprovedDecisions
Delegated to officers94%3995%3,390
Planning committee6%13599%213

Where the register states how the decision was made. 801 decisions did not say.

Appeals

168 appeals against Camden decisions were decided by the Planning Inspectorate in the window, 92 for every 100 refusals; 24% were allowed. Every appeal in Camden.

By year

Year decidedMedian daysWithin 8 weeksApprovedDecisions
2016 *7031%90%1,165
2017 *4762%96%212
2018 *5651%96%184
2019 *5653%97%216
2020 *5749%97%209
2021 *8528%85%153
2022 *8933%97%165
2023 *6446%99%197
2024 *4469%90%150
2025 *6346%89%34
2026 so far4364%95%3,316

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

Decided in the last three weeks

Built nightly from Camden's planning register. Ranks are among the 388 published councils. See planning applications in Camden, appeals, or get alerts for Camden.

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.