Planning decisions in West Berkshire

How long West Berkshire takes to decide a planning application and how many it approves, from the 2,249 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.

55 daysmedian from validation to decision (UK 54); 60 from receipt
61%decided within eight weeks (UK 66%), 86% within thirteen
90%approved (UK 90%): 1,807 approved, 197 refused, 86 withdrawn
242 of 388UK rank for speed, down 108 places on last year; 222 of 388 for approvals
056 October 2025: 57 days, 175 decisionsOctNovember 2025: 57 days, 192 decisionsNovDecember 2025: 57 days, 194 decisionsDecJanuary 2026: 59 days, 207 decisionsJanFebruary 2026: 66 days, 138 decisionsFebMarch 2026: 59 days, 180 decisionsMarApril 2026: 64 days, 207 decisionsAprMay 2026: 64 days, 177 decisionsMayJune 2026: 60 days, 203 decisionsJunJuly 2026: 62 days, 220 decisionsJulAugust 2026: 57 days, 154 decisionsAugSeptember 2026: 67 days, 202 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
Householder applications5848%94%558158 of 200
Tree works4874%97%437251 of 324
Discharge of conditions5371%90%354158 of 310
Full applications7832%80%221301 of 359
Prior approvals4388%79%196288 of 340
Lawful development certificates5474%75%175218 of 348
Amendments4671%89%151173 of 356
Listed building consent5653%97%103115 of 307
Advertisement consent *5661%100%23214 of 320
Outline applications *5654%38%1436 of 110

Delegated or committee

RouteShareMedian daysApprovedDecisions
Delegated to officers99%5688%1,677
Planning committee1%14179%14

Where the register states how the decision was made. 558 decisions did not say.

Appeals

49 appeals against West Berkshire decisions were decided by the Planning Inspectorate in the window, 25 for every 100 refusals; 24% were allowed. Every appeal in West Berkshire.

By year

Year decidedMedian daysWithin 8 weeksApprovedDecisions
2016 *5672%89%47
2017 *3679%78%147
2018 *2986%91%345
2019 *4074%88%106
2020 *6235%99%146
2021 *7030%94%385
2022 *2867%96%42
2023 *3489%92%38
2024 *2887%97%32
2025 *1100%100%102
2026 so far6240%90%1,688

* 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 West Berkshire's planning register. Ranks are among the 388 published councils. See planning applications in West Berkshire, appeals, or get alerts for West Berkshire.

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.