Decision times · Scotland
How long planning decisions take in East Lothian
56 days. Ranked 149 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by East Lothian took 56 days from submission to decision — exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 912 decisions where the council published both dates.
How East Lothian compares
Year to September 2026
East Lothian sits exactly on the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 53%.
The average here is 69 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 119 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 482 53%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 267 29%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 163 18%
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 | 56 | 149 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 54 | 102 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 54 | 121 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 53 | 135 of 236 |
| September 2025 | 48 | 58 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 49 | 32 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 49 | 31 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 48 | 25 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 48 days, East Lothian has moved down 91 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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Prior approval 71 decided 23 days
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Other 10 decided 27 days
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Lawful development 22 decided 28 days
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Outline 10 decided 36 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 159 decided 56 days
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Full applications 586 decided 58 days
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Advertising 38 decided 65 days
What East Lothian decides
Year to September 2026
East Lothian issued 912 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 97% were approvals: 768 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 Lothian?
The median planning application decided by East Lothian in the year to September 2026 took 56 days from submission to decision, exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 912 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 149 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does East Lothian meet the eight week target?
53% of the 912 decisions East Lothian made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 82% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 119 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 Lothian faster or slower than average?
East Lothian sits exactly on the national median of 56 days.
Is East Lothian getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 48 days, East Lothian has moved down 91 places in the table. Its median has risen by 8 days.
What proportion of applications does East Lothian approve?
97% of the clear-cut outcomes East Lothian issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 768 granted against 23 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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East Lothian planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 56 days from application to decision (exactly the eight week target), across 912 decisions with both dates published. 53% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 82% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 119 days. Ranked 149 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 97% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.