Planning decisions in City Of London

How long City Of London takes to decide a planning application and how many it approves, from the 647 decisions it made in the twelve months to August 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.

56 daysmedian from validation to decision (UK 52); 60 from receipt
53%decided within eight weeks (UK 73%), 79% within thirteen
over 99%approved (UK 89%): 612 approved, 1 refused, 18 withdrawn
291 of 322UK rank for speed; 3 of 322 for approvals
056 January 2026: 17 days, 7 decisionsJanFebruary 2026: 19 days, 34 decisionsFebMarch 2026: 42 days, 64 decisionsMarApril 2026: 55 days, 65 decisionsAprMay 2026: 65 days, 97 decisionsMayJune 2026: 69 days, 112 decisionsJunJuly 2026: 69 days, 147 decisionsJulAugust 2026: 62 days, 121 decisionsAug
Median days from validation to decision, by month of decision. Dashed line: UK median (52 days). Grid at 56 and 91 days, the eight and thirteen week targets.

By kind of application

KindMedian daysWithin 8 weeksApprovedDecisionsUK rank
Discharge of conditions5553%100%317151 of 178
Full applications7632%100%78277 of 298
Listed building consent6339%100%67161 of 200
Advertisement consent8228%98%43188 of 192
Amendments4068%100%40143 of 271
Other *2294%100%1923 of 40

Delegated or committee

RouteShareMedian daysApprovedDecisions
Delegated to officers99%56over 99%625
Planning committee1%124100%4

Where the register states how the decision was made. 18 decisions did not say.

Appeals

7 appeals against City Of London decisions were decided by the Planning Inspectorate in the window, 700 for every 100 refusals; 57% were allowed. Every appeal in City Of London.

By year

Year decidedMedian daysWithin 8 weeksApprovedDecisions
2026 so far6048%over 99%647

Past their target date now

Decided in the last three weeks

Built nightly from City Of London's planning register. Ranks are among the 322 published councils. See planning applications in City Of London, appeals, or get alerts for City Of London.

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 Withdrawn and undecided applications are not timed.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.