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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minutePlanning permission and building control approval are separate processes. A delay in one does not satisfy the other, and neither deadline means you can safely start work without the required approval. This guide explains the England process, the checks to make immediately, and the formal escalation routes when a decision is late.
First confirm which approval is delayed, when a valid application was received, whether the authority has requested information or agreed an extension in writing, and what decision date it now expects. Keep a dated record of every submission, call, email and agreement. The rules below are for England; building-regulation procedures differ in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and equivalent Welsh rules are not covered here.
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Planning permission and building control: two different approvals
Planning permission deals with whether a proposed development is acceptable in its location: for example, its use, scale, appearance, access and effect on neighbours. The decision-maker is normally your local planning authority (LPA).
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Building control approval deals with whether the design and construction comply with Building Regulations, including structural safety, fire safety, energy performance, drainage and access. For ordinary, non-higher-risk work in England, the route may be through your local council or a registered building control approver. Higher-risk building work generally follows the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) route.
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You may need both approvals. A planning delay does not extend a building-control deadline, and a building-control approval does not grant planning permission. Keep separate files, reference numbers and contacts for each application.
What to do in the first 24 hours
- Identify the decision-maker. Contact the LPA for planning. Contact the council building control service or registered building control approver for ordinary building work. Check whether the project is higher-risk and therefore within the BSR framework.
- Confirm validity and receipt. Ask when the authority accepted a complete, valid application. An early draft, an incomplete form or an unpaid fee may not start the statutory clock.
- Check the application type. Planning periods depend on whether the case is non-major, major or subject to environmental impact assessment (EIA). Building control periods depend on the route, such as full plans.
- Read every message. Look for requests for drawings, reports, fees, ownership certificates, consultation information or clarifications. Check for a written extension agreement and its end date.
- Request a written status update. Ask what remains outstanding, whether consultations are complete and the date the authority currently expects to decide.
- Protect the programme. Do not mobilise contractors or start work solely because a deadline has passed. Re-sequence work that does not depend on the delayed approval and notify affected suppliers in writing.
Use a simple log with the date, person contacted, reference number, information supplied, promised action and next follow-up date. It provides an accurate chronology if you later need an appeal or formal complaint.
How long should an England planning application take?
The ordinary statutory periods described in the government’s planning guidance are measured from a valid application, unless a different period was agreed in writing. The applicable period depends on the classification of the application.
| Planning application | Usual period | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Non-major | 8 weeks | Period described in the cited planning appeals guidance; check the case classification and any written extension. GOV.UK appeals guidance |
| Major | 13 weeks | Ordinary period in the same guidance, subject to a written extension. GOV.UK appeals guidance |
| Application subject to environmental impact assessment | 16 weeks | Period stated in the guidance, unless another period was agreed in writing. GOV.UK appeals guidance |
These are procedural deadlines, not statistics about actual waiting times. A valid extension changes the date on which the application is technically overdue, so obtain the agreement and revised date in writing.
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If your planning application is overdue
Ask the LPA for a firm decision date
Before escalating, ask the case officer or planning department to confirm the application’s validity, outstanding information, consultation position and expected committee or delegated decision date. Ask whether the authority considers an extension to be in force and request a copy or written confirmation. A realistic date may let you avoid the cost and uncertainty of an appeal.
Consider an appeal against non-determination
If the statutory or agreed period has expired without a decision, a qualifying applicant may appeal to the Planning Inspectorate on the ground of non-determination. This is a procedural route, not an automatic grant of permission. The inspector considers the planning merits and the evidence; an appeal can still be dismissed.
Check the application date before using the online guidance. The Planning Inspectorate has a separate procedural guide for applications dated on or after 1 April 2026: 2026 planning appeals guide. Applications dated on or before 31 March 2026 follow the earlier guide: Procedural Guide: Planning appeals – England.
Appeal time limits vary by application type and circumstances. Confirm the limit on the official page before filing: How long you have to appeal. Householder cases and other categories can have different periods, and enforcement action can shorten the available time. The Planning Inspectorate’s overview explains the process and submission requirements: Appeal against a planning decision: Overview.
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Balance an appeal against waiting
- Proceeding to appeal: creates a formal timetable and avoids an indefinite wait, but requires a complete statement of case and may involve fees or professional costs. Permission is not guaranteed.
- Allowing a short further period: may produce a quicker local decision if the officer has identified a near-term committee date, but obtain that commitment in writing and set a review date.
- Withdrawing and resubmitting: can be appropriate only after professional advice. It may lose the original submission date, require new fees and restart consultations.
Do not assume that missing the deadline means the proposal is approved. The guidance describes a right to appeal and, in specified circumstances, a fee refund under the planning guarantee policy, not automatic permission.
What the planning guarantee does—and does not—do
The planning guarantee is government policy rather than a replacement for statutory deadlines. The cited guidance describes a guarantee of no more than one year to a decision, including decision-making stages such as an appeal. It identifies 26 weeks for major applications and 16 weeks for non-major applications where no extended period has been agreed. These figures are policy benchmarks, not an entitlement to permission or a promise that every application will be decided within that time.
The policy also describes circumstances in which a fee may be refunded after the relevant guarantee period if no appeal was made. Check the current wording and your application’s classification in Determining a planning application before relying on a refund.
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Full-plans applications: the five-week period
For a full-plans building control application, the decision period is five weeks unless you agree a longer period in writing. GOV.UK summarises the expectation as a decision within five weeks, or two months with your consent, for the full-plans route: Building regulations approval: How to apply. The Building Regulations 2010, as amended, provide the legal framework; see the England provisions retrieved on 1 July 2026 at Part 3 and the current body at the legislation page.
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Silence is not deemed approval or rejection. When the five weeks expires, contact the building control body and ask it to confirm the date received, whether the application is complete, whether plans or calculations are outstanding, whether an extension was agreed, and the date it will issue its decision.
Do not confuse a delay with a refusal
A delayed application and a formal rejection have different remedies. If the local authority rejects certain full-plans applications, the Regulations provide a 21-relevant-day appeal period in specified circumstances. The precise trigger and route depend on the decision, so check the legislation and obtain confirmation before relying on that limit. The Building Safety Regulator’s guidance lists appeal routes for certain building-regulation decisions: Building regulations approval: Appeals.
Higher-risk building work
Higher-risk building applications use a separate BSR process rather than the ordinary local-authority route. For prescribed higher-risk applications, a missed statutory decision period may allow a non-determination application to the Secretary of State if the required conditions are met. The procedure and eligibility are set out in Non-determination applications for higher-risk buildings procedures: applying to the Secretary of State.
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Choosing the next action
| Your situation | Immediate route | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Planning application still within its statutory or agreed period | Ask the LPA for status and a decision date | Validity, classification, consultation responses, outstanding information and written extension. |
| Planning application past its deadline | Assess a non-determination appeal | Application date, appeal time limit, procedure, planning merits, cost and whether a short local delay is acceptable. |
| Ordinary, non-higher-risk building work | Contact the council or registered building control approver | Application route, date received, completeness, written extension, inspection scope and decision date. The available sources do not establish that either route is always faster. |
| Higher-risk building work | Use the BSR process and check the prescribed non-determination route | Whether the application is covered, the statutory deadline, any extension and the Secretary of State procedure. |
Keep the construction programme moving safely
Separate activities that require approval from preparatory work that does not create an unlawful commitment. You can review procurement, update a risk register, refine sequencing and prepare information for the authority, but do not begin regulated construction on the assumption that approval will arrive later. Ask your designer, contractor and insurer how a change in sequence affects warranties, preliminaries, temporary works and payment milestones.
Update the programme with three dates: the statutory or agreed decision date, the authority’s latest forecast and the date by which the project must decide whether to escalate. Record the cost of each week of delay separately from the cause you currently suspect; correspondence should establish facts rather than accuse the authority of a particular failure without evidence.
When professional help is worthwhile
A planning consultant or architect can help check validity, respond to technical requests, assess planning merits and prepare a non-determination appeal. A registered building control approver or building-regulations professional can clarify the correct application route, resolve plan queries and explain inspection requirements. These are optional professional services: no service provider can guarantee that an authority will decide faster, and the available guidance does not establish any standard fee or guaranteed acceleration.
Seek specialist advice promptly where the project is commercially time-critical, the application involves an EIA, the appeal deadline is close, the work may be higher-risk, or a refusal has been issued rather than a decision simply being late.
Common mistakes that make delays worse
- Counting from the date an incomplete draft was uploaded instead of the date a valid application was received.
- Assuming a case is non-major, full plans or non-higher-risk without confirming its classification.
- Relying on a telephone promise instead of obtaining an extension or decision date in writing.
- Treating planning and building control correspondence as one approval file.
- Starting work because the authority has not responded. Missed deadlines do not create automatic planning permission or building-control approval.
- Filing an appeal without checking the application-date guide and the category-specific time limit.
- Assuming a private approver or council route is invariably quicker; the published material does not support that blanket claim.
Bottom line
Confirm the valid receipt date, application category and any written extension; ask the correct authority for a documented status and decision date; then escalate only through the route that matches the approval. In England, an overdue planning application may support a non-determination appeal, while a full-plans building-control application is not approved by silence. Higher-risk building work follows a separate BSR procedure, so verify the route before taking action.
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