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In England, a commercial planning application has a statutory decision period of 8 weeks for non-major development, 13 weeks for major development and 16 weeks where an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required. Those are deadlines from validation, not reliable completion forecasts. In April–June 2026, only 19% of major applications were decided within 13 weeks, although 91% were decided within 13 weeks or an agreed longer period, according to MHCLG statistics.
Approval also does not mean that construction can start immediately. A committee resolution is not the permission; the decision notice is. You then need to satisfy any section 106 obligations and pre-commencement conditions, obtain Building Regulations approval and other relevant consents, and begin a material operation lawfully within the period stated on the notice—normally three years for a full permission in England.
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How long does commercial planning permission take?
The clock starts on the day after the local planning authority has a valid application: the correct forms, drawings, supporting documents and fee. Uploading an incomplete application does not start the statutory period. An application can sit unregistered while the authority waits for missing information, and that time is not included in published speed statistics.
| Application type | Statutory period | Calendar-day equivalent | Typical commercial relevance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-major development | 8 weeks | 56 days | Most minor commercial schemes |
| Major development | 13 weeks | 91 days | Larger floorspace, sites or other major categories |
| EIA development | 16 weeks | 112 days | Where an Environmental Impact Assessment is required |
| Public service infrastructure without EIA | 10 weeks | 70 days | A separate statutory category |
| Technical details consent, non-major | 5 weeks | 35 days | A different route from an ordinary full application |
| Technical details consent, major | 10 weeks | 70 days | A different route from an ordinary full application |
The periods are set by article 34 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015. MHCLG guidance says the authority should decide as quickly as possible and within the statutory period unless a longer period is agreed in writing. The 5-week and 10-week technical-details periods are distinct from the 8-week and 13-week periods for ordinary full applications.
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What makes a commercial scheme “major”?
“Major” is a legal classification, not an officer’s view that a project is complicated. The major-development definition includes, among other categories, buildings creating at least 1,000 square metres of floorspace, development on a site of at least 1 hectare, mineral or waste development, and certain housing schemes. A commercial proposal below 1,000 square metres and below the other thresholds will normally be in the 8-week class; crossing a threshold generally moves it to 13 weeks. An EIA adds the 16-week limit.
Commercial development in the national statistics means offices, research and development and light industry; general industry, storage and warehousing; and retail and service. The council’s validation decision and the development-management order control the classification of an individual proposal.
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Eight weeks is a statutory target, not a promise that a decision notice will be in your hands by day 56. The most common causes of a longer timetable are:
- Validation: the clock has not begun if the local list, drawings, reports or fee is incomplete.
- Consultation: highways, drainage, ecology, conservation, the lead local flood authority and parish councils commonly receive 21-day consultation periods. Officers may wait for replies.
- Amendments: revised drawings can require fresh consultation and extend the programme.
- Committee cycles: an application may miss a meeting agenda. A committee vote can still be only a resolution to grant while a legal agreement is completed.
- Seasonal ecology: bat-emergence, great-crested-newt and breeding-bird surveys may be possible only in particular seasons. Missing a survey season can add months, or a year, rather than a fortnight.
Commission seasonal surveys before submission. Validation against the council’s local requirements list is the part of the timetable an applicant can control most directly.
What do the latest decision statistics show?
The MHCLG release for April–June 2026 covered England and district-level planning authorities:
- Of major applications, 19% were decided within the statutory 13 weeks; 91% were decided within 13 weeks or an agreed longer period.
- Of minor applications, 39% were decided within the statutory 8 weeks; 87% were decided within 8 weeks or an agreed time.
- There were 1,600 commercial decisions, with 1,400 (90%) granted. In the year ending June 2026 there were 6,200 commercial decisions, with 5,600 (90%) granted.
- Seventy-seven per cent of major decisions involved a planning-performance agreement, extension of time or EIA arrangement; across all decisions the share was 41%.
The 19% and 91% figures answer different questions. The first measures the legal 13-week period. The second treats a written extension or performance agreement as on time. They should not be merged into a claim that 91% met the statutory deadline.
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What is an extension of time or planning-performance agreement?
An extension of time is a written agreement to decide after the statutory date. The guidance sets no fixed maximum number or duration. A planning-performance agreement is a bespoke timetable, often fee-based, for a project where the ordinary period is unrealistic. Decisions made within the agreed timetable count as on time in national statistics.
Agreeing an extension changes the date on which a non-determination appeal can be made and normally removes the fee-refund route that would otherwise apply. The government’s planning guarantee is policy rather than a replacement for the statutory periods: it aims for no application to spend more than a year with decision-makers, with practical targets of 26 weeks for major and 16 weeks for non-major applications, including appeals.
What happens if the council does not decide?
When the statutory period or agreed extension expires without a decision, section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 gives a right of appeal against non-determination to the Secretary of State. It is not an automatic grant: the inspector considers the submitted scheme on its merits and can dismiss it.
For a standard non-determination appeal, the commonly stated window is six months from when the decision should have been issued. A shorter 12-week route applies to defined householder and minor-commercial appeal classes, not to every shop, office or warehouse. Confirm the correct class and deadline with the appeal form and current guidance.
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Is a resolution to grant the same as planning permission?
No. A resolution to grant is a decision to issue permission after an outstanding matter—usually a section 106 agreement—has been settled. Until the decision notice is issued, there is no permission to build against, no permission under which to discharge conditions and no implementation clock running.
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A section 106 agreement is a legal contract. Owners, lenders, freeholders or option holders may all need to sign, so drafting should begin while the application is being determined if an agreement is likely. Months can pass between the vote and the notice. The date on the notice (or an appeal decision) starts the permission period, not the committee date or the date the notice arrives in the post.
What should you do immediately after the decision notice?
Use the notice, approved drawings and condition schedule as the project’s legal checklist. A practical sequence is:
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11- Confirm exactly what was approved. Check the description of development, drawing numbers, plans, floor areas and any phasing. Informative notes point to other matters but have no legal force and cannot replace a condition or legal obligation.
- Sort pre-commencement conditions first. “No development shall take place until…” conditions can cover drainage, contamination, highways, ecology, archaeology, levels or materials. Submit the required details in the council’s format and obtain written discharge before starting the operation that the condition controls.
- Track condition applications separately. A condition-discharge request is a fresh application. The authority normally has eight weeks from the day after receipt, or 16 weeks for an EIA pre-commencement condition, unless a longer period is agreed in writing. If no decision is made within 12 weeks, the discharge fee must be returned. A fee must be paid when the request is made; it cannot be added later.
- Consider deemed discharge only with professional advice. The narrow procedure applies to certain post-15 April 2015 permissions and conditions requiring authority consent. It is excluded for specified conditions and where the parties have opted out. The applicant must serve a notice, normally no earlier than six weeks after the day following receipt of the discharge application, and observe the statutory timing rules. A refusal or non-determination can also be appealed.
- Obtain Building Regulations approval. Planning controls land use and external impacts; Building Regulations control safety and building performance. They are separate processes. The planning authority should not use a condition merely to require compliance with another regulatory regime, but the developer still has to obtain the relevant Building Control approval.
- Complete the technical design. Planning drawings are not usually a construction package. Structural coordination, specifications, fire strategy, drainage details, utility capacity and procurement may be needed before a contractor can price and mobilise.
- Check other notices and rights. Depending on the project, this can include a section 80 demolition notice, asbestos surveys, Party Wall etc. Act notices, utility applications, ecological watching briefs and appointments under the Building Regulations and CDM regimes.
- Hold a pre-start review. Walk through every condition, drawing revision, inspection point, section 106 trigger and evidence requirement with the contractor, designer and Building Control body. Keep dated photographs, delivery records and contractor instructions.
How long does it take to discharge a planning condition?
The statutory period is eight weeks from the day after a valid discharge application is received, or 16 weeks for an EIA condition that must be approved before development starts. That is a decision deadline, not a guarantee that the submission will be accepted first time.
Recent industry analysis reported by Today’s Conveyancer, based on Home Builders Federation and Paragon Bank Development Finance freedom-of-information returns, found 50.8% of condition applications decided within eight weeks and a 70-day median in 2025/26. The research is not MHCLG’s commercial series and is heavily housing-oriented, but it illustrates why condition discharge needs its own programme. A commercial consent with many technical conditions can create a substantial post-grant workstream.
How long does planning permission last once work has started?
For a full permission in England, the normal condition is that development must begin within three years of the date of the grant, unless the notice specifies a different period. The rule is about starting, not finishing. Once development has been lawfully commenced before the deadline, there is generally no automatic statutory deadline to complete it, although a condition, phasing obligation or exceptional completion notice can change that position.
Read the notice rather than assuming three years. An authority can impose a shorter or longer period where justified. A permission granted on appeal runs from the appeal decision date. A committee resolution does not start the clock.
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What are the time limits for outline permission?
Outline permission has two linked clocks. In England, reserved matters normally must be submitted within three years of the outline grant, and development must normally begin within two years of the final approval of the last reserved matter. The notice can substitute different periods. Reserved-matters approval can impose conditions only on those reserved matters; requirements that belong to the principle of development should have been dealt with on the outline permission.
On the secondary account in the available data, Wales uses a five-year default for full permission and a Wales-specific commencement rule for outline schemes. The 8/13/16-week timetable and three-year England rule should not be presented as a single UK-wide rule. Scotland and Northern Ireland require separate checks against their own legislation and guidance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What counts as a lawful start?
Section 56 treats development as begun when the earliest material operation forming part of the approved development is carried out. Examples include construction work on a building, demolition, digging a foundation trench, laying an underground main to foundations, constructing a road, or a material change of use.
Site clearance, a fence, temporary access, submitting a condition application, paying a fee or obtaining Building Regulations approval may not qualify. More importantly, the operation must be lawful. Starting work in breach of a pre-commencement condition can make the development unlawful and expose it to enforcement. A condition that goes to the heart of the permission—such as agreed ground-floor levels—cannot safely be treated as a minor technicality.
Keep dated photographs, site diaries, invoices and contractor records showing what operation occurred and when. If the history of commencement is disputed, a lawful development certificate is the formal route commonly used to establish whether the permission was lawfully begun.
Does permission expire if a commercial site pauses?
Not usually, if the permission was lawfully commenced in time. A temporary pause does not by itself extinguish the permission. However, phasing conditions, section 106 obligations, pre-occupation conditions and approved-drawing limits can still operate during the pause. An exceptional completion-notice power can invalidate an incomplete permission, but that is not the ordinary result of stopping work.
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A section 73 application can vary conditions and create a new permission alongside the original, but it does not buy extra implementation time: the original start deadline remains. It cannot change the description of development. A non-material amendment is quicker in practice but has no statutory definition and is judged cumulatively; a larger change normally requires a fresh application, and previously discharged conditions may need to be addressed again.
How long after planning permission is granted can building work start?
There is no universal “start date after approval”. A simple scheme with no pre-commencement conditions can proceed once the notice is issued and other statutory approvals are in place. A complex commercial project may take months to assemble its lawful start.
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TEA Architects gives the following practitioner ranges, which are planning and construction-programme estimates rather than statutory periods: condition approvals 2–12 weeks, technical design 4–12 weeks, structural coordination 2–6 weeks, Building Regulations approval 2–8 weeks, tendering 3–6 weeks and contractor mobilisation 2–6 weeks. Their account of one Wiltshire commercial consent had 25 conditions, roughly two-thirds requiring information before particular stages. Larger developments often start six months or more after grant; a straightforward project can be faster. Treat those ranges as planning assumptions, not promises.
The safest sequence is therefore: obtain the notice; identify the conditions that block a lawful start; submit complete discharge packages; secure Building Regulations and other consents; finish technical design and procurement; then carry out a material operation while the permission remains valid. Starting a token operation without discharging a condition is not a shortcut—it can undermine the permission’s lawful implementation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I start groundwork on the day the committee approves my application?
No. A committee resolution is not the decision notice, and a pre-commencement condition may prohibit any development until details are approved. Wait for the notice, check the exact wording and drawings, and obtain written discharge before carrying out a controlled operation.
Does a condition-discharge application extend the three-year expiry date?
No. Applying to discharge a condition does not extend the permission’s implementation period. If the start deadline is approaching, obtain specialist advice on the lawful-commencement evidence and any available application route before it expires.
Can I rely on deemed discharge if the council is silent?
Only where the condition and permission fall within the limited statutory scheme and the required notice procedure has been followed. Exempt conditions and written opt-outs prevent it, and a deemed approval does not cure a separate breach of the permission or section 106 agreement.
What evidence proves that a commercial permission was started in time?
Keep dated site photographs, delivery tickets, contractor timesheets, invoices, inspection records and a survey showing the precise material operation. The evidence should connect the work to the approved development and show that all conditions controlling that operation had already been discharged.
