Planning decisions in South Somerset

How long South Somerset takes to decide a planning application and how many it approves, from the 1,031 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.

41 daysmedian from validation to decision (UK 52); 48 from receipt
84%decided within eight weeks (UK 73%), 94% within thirteen
95%approved (UK 89%): 729 approved, 39 refused, 27 withdrawn
21 of 321UK rank for speed, up 14 places on last year; 77 of 321 for approvals
056 September 2025: 47 days, 201 decisionsSeptOctober 2025: 42 days, 212 decisionsOctNovember 2025: 49 days, 142 decisionsNovDecember 2025: 43 days, 184 decisionsDecJanuary 2026: 8 days, 18 decisionsJanFebruary 2026: 43 days, 84 decisionsFebMarch 2026: 43 days, 129 decisionsMarApril 2026: 49 days, 159 decisionsAprMay 2026: 51 days, 184 decisionsMayJune 2026: 52 days, 136 decisionsJunJuly 2026: 49 days, 188 decisionsJulAugust 2026: 50 days, 133 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
Full applications (including householder)4278%96%3137 of 302
Discharge of conditions *4883%50%19178 of 175
Tree works3892%97%189127 of 259
Amendments3389%93%111125 of 263
Listed building consent4578%97%803 of 200
Prior approvals *3495%100%7560 of 168
Lawful development certificates3097%94%3925 of 253

Appeals

2 appeals against South Somerset decisions were decided by the Planning Inspectorate in the window, 5 for every 100 refusals; 100% were allowed. Every appeal in South Somerset.

By year

Year decidedMedian daysWithin 8 weeksApprovedDecisions
2016 *5653%98%274
2017 *2497%over 99%368
2018 *2891%100%47
2019 *2681%95%40
2020 *2686%97%73
2021 *9114%93%31
2022 *4286%99%362
2023 *5461%78%121
2024 *1997%100%80
2025 *11100%100%80
2026 so far4868%95%1,031

* 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 South Somerset's planning register. Ranks are among the 321 published councils. See planning applications in South Somerset, appeals, or get alerts for South Somerset.

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.