Planning permission in Slough
What actually happens to planning applications decided by Slough Borough Council: approval rates, decision times, appeal odds and the development plan they are judged against. Figures cover 2,605 applications decided in the two years to July 2026, from the council's public planning register.
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How long does planning permission take in Slough?
Half of decided applications took 56 days or less from validation to decision. The middle 50% of applications took between 48 and 87 days, and 51.6% were decided inside the 8-week statutory target for minor applications. Complex or contested schemes take longer.
The Slough local plan
Slough's statutory development plan comprises the Local Development Framework Core Strategy 2006-2026 (adopted December 2008, Core Policies CP1 to CP12), the Site Allocations Development Plan Document (adopted November 2010, allocation policies SSA1 to SSA25) and saved policies of the Slough Local Plan 2004 (adopted March 2004, topic-letter policies in the H, EN, EMP, S, T, OSC, CG and TC series), together with saved former-Berkshire joint minerals and waste policies. The Slough Trading Estate Simplified Planning Zone Scheme 2024-2034 separately grants deemed permission for specified employment uses on the SEGRO estate, and the borough has no made neighbourhood plans and no Community Infrastructure Levy.
The previous new Local Plan for Slough 2016-2036 ('Protecting the Suburbs') reached only Regulation 18 in November 2020 and was effectively halted in 2022 after the council's section 114 notice, so it carries minimal weight as a material consideration. A brand-new Local Plan under the 2026 plan-making system was confirmed to MHCLG and PINS in December 2025 as a 30-month programme, with the Statement of Community Involvement adopted in November 2025, but it has no published policy content and carries no weight yet.
What tends to shape decisions here: Slough is surrounded by Metropolitan Green Belt, most extensively around Colnbrook and Poyle to the south where it forms part of the Colne Valley Park. Flood risk from the River Thames and the Jubilee River places parts of the borough in Flood Zones 2 and 3, while two Air Quality Management Areas and five conservation areas further shape development. With a five-year housing land supply of about 2.58 years as at April 2025 and Housing Delivery Test results below 75 percent, the presumption in favour of sustainable development and its tilted balance are engaged borough-wide.
Source: decisions published on the Slough Borough Council public planning register, two years to July 2026. Approval rate = approvals divided by approvals plus refusals; withdrawn applications and other outcomes are excluded. We track 9,300 Slough applications in total. Plan facts as of July 2026; always check the council's own pages for the latest position.
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