Planning decisions in West Devon

How long West Devon takes to decide a planning application and how many it approves, from the 725 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.

49 daysmedian from validation to decision (UK 54); 57 from receipt
77%decided within eight weeks (UK 66%), 90% within thirteen
85%approved (UK 90%): 528 approved, 92 refused, 22 withdrawn
72 of 388UK rank for speed, up 60 places on last year; 327 of 388 for approvals
056 October 2025: 51 days, 71 decisionsOctNovember 2025: 55 days, 50 decisionsNovDecember 2025: 61 days, 57 decisionsDecJanuary 2026: 56 days, 69 decisionsJanFebruary 2026: 66 days, 58 decisionsFebMarch 2026: 53 days, 61 decisionsMarApril 2026: 66 days, 61 decisionsAprMay 2026: 50 days, 53 decisionsMayJune 2026: 63 days, 64 decisionsJunJuly 2026: 55 days, 63 decisionsJulAugust 2026: 63 days, 51 decisionsAugSeptember 2026: 63 days, 67 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
Prior approvals3492%59%163144 of 340
Full applications5661%86%134114 of 359
Tree works3796%94%122135 of 324
Householder applications5470%89%11569 of 200
Discharge of conditions3672%91%4427 of 310
Lawful development certificates4785%95%4196 of 348
Amendments5076%89%38208 of 356
Listed building consent5466%97%3841 of 307
Outline applications *7842%42%1370 of 110

Appeals

36 appeals against West Devon decisions were decided by the Planning Inspectorate in the window, 39 for every 100 refusals; 33% were allowed. Every appeal in West Devon.

By year

Year decidedMedian daysWithin 8 weeksApprovedDecisions
20255460%86%284
2026 so far5947%85%547

Decided in the last three weeks

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

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.