Decision times · Scotland
How long planning decisions take in East Dunbartonshire
66 days. Ranked 34 of 45.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by East Dunbartonshire took 66 days from submission to decision — 10 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 450 decisions where the council published both dates.
How East Dunbartonshire compares
Year to December 2026
East Dunbartonshire takes longer than the country as a whole: 9 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 21%.
The average here is 82 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 140 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 96 21%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 244 54%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 110 24%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| December 2026 | 66 | 34 of 45 |
| September 2026 | 65 | 46 of 56 |
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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Lawful development 29 decided 48 days
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Full applications 225 decided 68 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 10 decided 96 days
What East Dunbartonshire decides
Year to December 2026
East Dunbartonshire issued 450 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 96% were approvals: 263 granted against 11 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 Dunbartonshire?
The median planning application decided by East Dunbartonshire in the year to December 2026 took 66 days from submission to decision, 10 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 450 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 34 of 45 UK councils on decision speed.
Does East Dunbartonshire meet the eight week target?
21% of the 450 decisions East Dunbartonshire made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 76% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 140 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 Dunbartonshire faster or slower than average?
East Dunbartonshire is slower than average: its median of 66 days is 9 days above the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does East Dunbartonshire approve?
96% of the clear-cut outcomes East Dunbartonshire issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 263 granted against 11 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
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East Dunbartonshire planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 66 days from application to decision (10 days beyond the eight week target), across 450 decisions with both dates published. 21% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 76% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 140 days. Ranked 34 of 45 UK councils on decision speed (national median 57 days). 96% 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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<p>Data: <a href="https://planindex.co.uk/planning-decision-times/east-dunbartonshire">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>