UK Construction and Law

Half of planning appeals are decided in nineteen weeks, and the slowest tenth now wait sixty seven

By Staff Writer  |  21 August 2026

The Planning Inspectorate published its performance against the measures ministers set on 20 August. Across every appeal decided in the year to the end of June 2026, the median time from valid receipt to decision was 19 weeks and the 90th percentile was 67 weeks. The stated ambition is that the slowest cases speed up faster than the middle ones. The release's own gap column shows the opposite, widening from 21 weeks to 51 across eight quarters.

Four things are measured: whether appeals are valid when first submitted, how long they take, customer satisfaction, and how many cases are quality assured. No new satisfaction score was available. The timing measure covers the twelve months to the end of June 2026, and its two halves point in opposite directions.

For all 18,926 decisions in that year the quarter points run 13 weeks, 19 weeks, 31 weeks and 67 weeks, and the longest single case took 392 weeks. On the quarterly table the median stood at 26 weeks for decisions made in July to September 2024 and fell to 18 weeks for those made in April to June 2026. Over the same eight quarters the 90th percentile climbed from 47 weeks to 70.

The quickest route has the longest tail

Written representations accounted for 17,557 of the 18,926 decisions, or 93 per cent, and run 13, 18, 29 and 64 weeks at the quarter points. Hearings, at 614 decisions, run 19, 23, 31 and 57. Inquiries, at 304 decisions, run 24, 26, 36 and 51.

The written procedure is comfortably the fastest in the middle and the worst at the extreme. Within 20 weeks, 56.9 per cent of written representations cases are decided, against 31.3 per cent of hearings and 8.6 per cent of inquiries. Beyond 52 weeks the order reverses: 13.2 per cent of written representations cases take more than a year, against 11.7 per cent of hearings and 9.9 per cent of inquiries. The most formal route is the most predictable one.

Ministers set ranges of 16 to 20 weeks for appeals decided entirely on written evidence and 24 to 26 weeks where there is a hearing or an inquiry. The median written representations case, at 18 weeks, sits inside its range. The median inquiry, at 26 weeks, sits on its upper limit.

The Inspectorate on the choice of procedure

The day before the figures came out, Claire Sherratt, an Inspector Profession Lead at the Planning Inspectorate, addressed the belief that a written case is a weaker case. Her figures for section 78 planning appeals in 2025 to 2026 show why it persists: 30 per cent of the 9,522 decided by written representations were allowed, against 53 per cent of the 416 decided by hearing and 72 per cent of the 159 decided by inquiry, on an overall rate of 31 per cent across 10,097 decisions.

Her explanation is that the procedure follows the case rather than the other way round. Written representations were used for 94.3 per cent of section 78 appeals, hearings for 4.1 per cent and inquiries for around 1.6 per cent, and the cases that go further are those where an inspector wants to test technical evidence or hear expert witnesses. In 70 per cent of written representations cases the inspector reached the same decision as the local planning authority.

The bottom line is that if your written representation case became an inquiry, it wouldn't actually be any more likely to succeed simply because there is an opportunity to present evidence orally.

Claire Sherratt, Inspector Profession Lead at the Planning Inspectorate

Her advice points backwards, to the application. A simpler and faster route has been introduced under which most written representations appeals are considered only on the evidence submitted with the original application, with nothing added later. On that footing, she writes, "If there is one thing you can therefore do to give your appeal the best chance of success, it is to submit the best available evidence at the application stage."

Getting the appeal accepted at all

Of appeals received in January to March 2026, 65.3 per cent were valid first time, against 52.1 per cent a year earlier. The spread by type is wide. Enforcement notice appeals are the worst at 34.3 per cent of the 2,473 received. Planning appeals sit at 57.5 per cent of 9,477, householder appeals at 67.6 per cent of 4,092 and lawful development certificate appeals at 70.3 per cent of 940.

On quality assurance, 1,374 appeal decisions were checked between April and June 2026, close to a third of the 4,342 issued in the quarter.

The middle of the range has improved and the risk has not. The median tells you what to plan for. The 90th percentile tells you what to carry.