Planning applications in Reading

Planning in Reading

The first thing to know about planning permission in Reading is that decisions take a while. The median householder application took 9.4 weeks to decide, and only 39% were decided within 8 weeks, across 920 decisions between 2023 and 2025. Build the wait into your plans.

The outcomes, though, are favourable. Of more than 10,000 planning applications since 2020, about 1 in 9 of those decided was refused, against about 1 in 7 across the areas we cover. Rear extensions, the busiest kind of work with more than 2,300 applications, are refused only about 1 in 14 times. Side extensions are about 1 in 15, loft conversions and dormers about 1 in 15 against about 1 in 5 nationally, and front extensions and porches about 1 in 20. Windows and doors are easiest of all at about 1 in 23, and driveways and dropped kerbs about 1 in 20. Garden rooms and outbuildings, with more than 1,000 applications, are about 1 in 10.

The one clear exception is fences, walls and gates. About 1 in 6 of the 248 applications was refused, which is more often than the national rate of about 1 in 7 and well above the council’s overall rate. If you are planning a boundary, look at what has been approved on nearby streets before you draw anything up.

Reading has 15 conservation areas, 504 listed buildings and 13 Article 4 directions, so some properties will face closer attention to appearance.

Activity is picking up. In 2025 the council received 1,542 applications, above the average of about 1,455 a year in the three years before. Refusals rose with it: about 1 in 7 decided applications was refused in 2025, against about 1 in 9 in the earlier period. The busiest year on record was 2021, with 1,696 applications.

Figures in this section as of 9 October 2026.