Planning decisions in Greater Cambridge
How long Greater Cambridge takes to decide a planning application and how many it approves, from the 39 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.
50 daysmedian from validation to decision (UK 54); 53 from receipt
62%decided within eight weeks (UK 66%), 74% within thirteen
88%approved (UK 90%): 30 approved, 4 refused
115 of 388UK rank for speed; 271 of 388 for approvals
Delegated or committee
| Route | Share | Median days | Approved | Decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delegated to officers | 92% | 43 | 94% | 36 |
| Planning committee | 8% | 141 | 33% | 3 |
Where the register states how the decision was made.
By year
| Year decided | Median days | Within 8 weeks | Approved | Decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 so far | 53 | 59% | 88% | 39 |
Past their target date now
- Land South Of South Cambridge Business Park Babraham Road Sawston CambridgeshireNon material amendment on application 25/02522/S73due 3 Mar 2026
- Land Off Church Road Teversham CambridgeshireS106 Agreement dated 10 February 1999 made between South Cambridgeshire District Council (1) Marshall of Cambridge, (2) The Cambridge Housindue 7 Jul 2026
- Land Fronting River Lane Cambridge CambridgeshireS106 agreement dated 21 November 1994 made between Cambridge City Council (1) and the Cambridge Housing Society Ltd - ref: C/0640/93.due 8 Jul 2026
- Land Adj Gills Hill Farm Gills Hill Bourn CambridgeshireReserved matters application for the appearance, layout and scale following outline planning permission 23/03849/OUT (Outline planning applidue 25 Sept 2026
Built nightly from Greater Cambridge's planning register. Ranks are among the 388 published councils. See planning applications in Greater Cambridge, appeals, or get alerts for Greater Cambridge.
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 Withdrawn and undecided applications are not timed.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.