Decision times · Northern Ireland
How long planning decisions take in Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon
105 days. Ranked 333 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon took 105 days from submission to decision — 49 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 599 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon compares
Year to September 2026
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon takes longer than the country as a whole: 49 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 15%.
The average here is 150 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 299 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 90 15%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 159 27%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 350 58%
The last few years
Each row is a full twelve months of decisions, ending in the quarter shown
Rolling twelve month windows overlap by nine months, so this reads as a trend rather than as four separate quarters. Only windows our records reach far enough back to measure in full are listed.
| Twelve months to | Median days | UK rank |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 105 | 333 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 102 | 320 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 84 | 226 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 67 | 208 of 236 |
| September 2025 | 106 | 312 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 120 | 303 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 116 | 306 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 114 | 310 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 106 days, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon has moved down 21 places in the table.
By type of application
Year to September 2026 · types with at least ten decisions
The headline median mixes every kind of application together. A householder extension and an outline application for a housing site are not the same job, and the difference between them is usually larger than the difference between two councils.
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Amendments 22 decided 62 days
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Conditions 61 decided 68 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 21 decided 77 days
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Reserved matters 52 decided 100 days
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Full applications 349 decided 118 days
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Advertising 20 decided 133 days
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Outline 49 decided 188 days
What Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon decides
Year to September 2026
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon issued 599 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 96% were approvals: 487 granted against 21 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes sit outside that percentage rather than being counted as either.
Speed and approval rate are separate things. A council that refuses quickly is not doing the same job as one that negotiates an approval slowly, and neither figure alone says which served the applicant better.
Common questions
How long does a planning decision take in Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon?
The median planning application decided by Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon in the year to September 2026 took 105 days from submission to decision, 49 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 599 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 333 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon meet the eight week target?
15% of the 599 decisions Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 42% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 299 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon faster or slower than average?
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon is slower than average: its median of 105 days is 49 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 106 days, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon has moved down 21 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 1 day.
What proportion of applications does Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon approve?
96% of the clear-cut outcomes Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 487 granted against 21 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 105 days from application to decision (49 days beyond the eight week target), across 599 decisions with both dates published. 15% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 42% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 299 days. Ranked 333 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 96% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.