Decision times · East Midlands
How long planning decisions take in East Lindsey
67 days. Ranked 270 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by East Lindsey took 67 days from submission to decision — 11 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 247 decisions where the council published both dates.
How East Lindsey compares
Year to September 2026
East Lindsey takes longer than the country as a whole: 11 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 38%.
The average here is 90 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 169 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 95 38%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 88 36%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 64 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.
| Twelve months to | Median days | UK rank |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 67 | 270 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 69 | 279 of 328 |
| September 2025 | 58 | 211 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 58 | 176 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 58 | 179 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 57 | 171 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 58 days, East Lindsey has moved down 59 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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Outline 28 decided 18 days
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Amendments 10 decided 28 days
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Prior approval 14 decided 29 days
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Conditions 63 decided 56 days
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Full applications 110 decided 80 days
What East Lindsey decides
Year to September 2026
East Lindsey issued 248 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 92% were approvals: 152 granted against 14 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 Lindsey?
The median planning application decided by East Lindsey in the year to September 2026 took 67 days from submission to decision, 11 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 247 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 270 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does East Lindsey meet the eight week target?
38% of the 247 decisions East Lindsey 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 169 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 Lindsey faster or slower than average?
East Lindsey is slower than average: its median of 67 days is 11 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is East Lindsey getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 58 days, East Lindsey has moved down 59 places in the table. Its median has risen by 9 days.
What proportion of applications does East Lindsey approve?
92% of the clear-cut outcomes East Lindsey issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 152 granted against 14 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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East Lindsey planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 67 days from application to decision (11 days beyond the eight week target), across 247 decisions with both dates published. 38% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 74% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 169 days. Ranked 270 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 92% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.