Decision times · Scotland
How long planning decisions take in East Dunbartonshire
66 days. Ranked 265 of 343.
In the year to September 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 404 decisions where the council published both dates.
How East Dunbartonshire compares
Year to September 2026
East Dunbartonshire takes longer than the country as a whole: 10 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 22%.
The average here is 80 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 136 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 88 22%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 229 57%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 87 22%
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 | 66 | 265 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 64 | 265 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 63 | 203 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 62 | 196 of 236 |
| September 2025 | 65 | 257 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 65 | 231 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 65 | 239 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 65 | 244 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 65 days, East Dunbartonshire has moved down 8 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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Lawful development 36 decided 49 days
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Advertising 14 decided 66 days
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Full applications 314 decided 67 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 13 decided 76 days
What East Dunbartonshire decides
Year to September 2026
East Dunbartonshire issued 404 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 97% were approvals: 365 granted against 12 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 September 2026 took 66 days from submission to decision, 10 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 404 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 265 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does East Dunbartonshire meet the eight week target?
22% of the 404 decisions East Dunbartonshire made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 78% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 136 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 10 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is East Dunbartonshire getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 65 days, East Dunbartonshire has moved down 8 places in the table. Its median has risen by 1 day.
What proportion of applications does East Dunbartonshire approve?
97% of the clear-cut outcomes East Dunbartonshire issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 365 granted against 12 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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East Dunbartonshire planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 66 days from application to decision (10 days beyond the eight week target), across 404 decisions with both dates published. 22% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 78% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 136 days. Ranked 265 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 97% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.