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Decision times · Scotland

How long planning decisions take in East Ayrshire

65 days. Ranked 256 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by East Ayrshire took 65 days from submission to decision — 9 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 575 decisions where the council published both dates.

65 days
Median decision 9 days beyond the eight week target
256 of 343
UK rank down 6 places in a year
37%
Within eight weeks 74% within thirteen
151 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How East Ayrshire compares

Year to September 2026

East Ayrshire takes longer than the country as a whole: 9 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 37%.

The average here is 84 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 151 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 210 37%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 215 37%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 150 26%

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.

East Ayrshire: median days from application to decision, by rolling twelve month window. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.
Twelve months to Median days UK rank
September 2026 65 256 of 343
June 2026 63 253 of 328
March 2026 63 201 of 243
December 2025 65 204 of 236
September 2025 64 250 of 324
June 2025 68 244 of 313
March 2025 70 259 of 315
December 2024 68 257 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 64 days, East Ayrshire has moved down 6 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.

  1. Prior approval 27 decided 28 days
  2. Outline 33 decided 29 days
  3. Amendments 27 decided 44 days
  4. Conditions 111 decided 53 days
  5. Lawful development 28 decided 63 days
  6. Advertising 22 decided 66 days
  7. Trees 32 decided 69 days
  8. Full applications 262 decided 75 days
  9. Heritage and listed buildings 31 decided 79 days

How these types compare nationally

What East Ayrshire decides

Year to September 2026

East Ayrshire issued 575 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 96% were approvals: 503 granted against 23 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 East Ayrshire?

The median planning application decided by East Ayrshire in the year to September 2026 took 65 days from submission to decision, 9 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 575 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 256 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does East Ayrshire meet the eight week target?

37% of the 575 decisions East Ayrshire made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 74% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 151 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is East Ayrshire faster or slower than average?

East Ayrshire is slower than average: its median of 65 days is 9 days above the national median of 56 days.

Is East Ayrshire getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 64 days, East Ayrshire has moved down 6 places in the table. Its median has risen by 1 day.

What proportion of applications does East Ayrshire approve?

96% of the clear-cut outcomes East Ayrshire issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 503 granted against 23 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

East Ayrshire planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 65 days from application to decision (9 days beyond the eight week target), across 575 decisions with both dates published. 37% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 74% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 151 days. Ranked 256 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 96% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.