Decision times · Scotland
How long planning decisions take in City of Edinburgh
48 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by City of Edinburgh took 48 days from submission to decision — 8 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,559 decisions where the council published both dates.
This council carries a figure but no rank
Not ranked yet: our records do not yet pass the historical coverage, monthly continuity, missing-date and refresh checks for this window. The figure above is still what the published dates say; it is left out of the league table so it cannot distort the ranking. See the methodology.
How City of Edinburgh compares
Year to December 2026
City of Edinburgh decides faster than the country as a whole: 9 days below the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 60%.
The average here is 55 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 112 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 930 60%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 420 27%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 209 13%
By type of application
Year to December 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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Telecoms 25 decided 12 days
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Trees 279 decided 14 days
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Prior approval 63 decided 24 days
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Conditions 68 decided 49 days
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Lawful development 132 decided 49 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 333 decided 51 days
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Advertising 59 decided 57 days
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Full applications 556 decided 62 days
What City of Edinburgh decides
Year to December 2026
City of Edinburgh issued 1,559 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 88% were approvals: 1,210 granted against 162 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 City of Edinburgh?
The median planning application decided by City of Edinburgh in the year to December 2026 took 48 days from submission to decision, 8 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,559 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does City of Edinburgh meet the eight week target?
60% of the 1,559 decisions City of Edinburgh made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 87% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 112 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is City of Edinburgh faster or slower than average?
City of Edinburgh is faster than average: its median of 48 days is 9 days below the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does City of Edinburgh approve?
88% of the clear-cut outcomes City of Edinburgh issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 1,210 granted against 162 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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City of Edinburgh planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 48 days from application to decision (8 days inside the eight week target), across 1,559 decisions with both dates published. 60% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 87% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 112 days. 88% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.
Or take the data itself: this council's history (CSV) or the full league table (CSV).
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<iframe src="https://planindex.co.uk/embed/decision-times/city-of-edinburgh" title="Planning decision times in City of Edinburgh" width="100%" height="215" loading="lazy" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<p>Data: <a href="https://planindex.co.uk/planning-decision-times/city-of-edinburgh">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>