Decision times · Northern Ireland
How long planning decisions take in Mid Ulster
108 days. Ranked 44 of 45.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Mid Ulster took 108 days from submission to decision — 52 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 805 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Mid Ulster compares
Year to December 2026
Mid Ulster takes longer than the country as a whole: 51 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 19%.
The average here is 167 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 338 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 153 19%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 160 20%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 492 61%
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 | 108 | 44 of 45 |
| September 2026 | 99 | 56 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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Conditions 28 decided 63 days
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Amendments 20 decided 68 days
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Lawful development 62 decided 90 days
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Reserved matters 80 decided 94 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 10 decided 107 days
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Full applications 448 decided 112 days
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Outline 85 decided 166 days
What Mid Ulster decides
Year to December 2026
Mid Ulster issued 805 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 98% were approvals: 597 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 Mid Ulster?
The median planning application decided by Mid Ulster in the year to December 2026 took 108 days from submission to decision, 52 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 805 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 44 of 45 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Mid Ulster meet the eight week target?
19% of the 805 decisions Mid Ulster made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 39% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 338 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Mid Ulster faster or slower than average?
Mid Ulster is slower than average: its median of 108 days is 51 days above the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Mid Ulster approve?
98% of the clear-cut outcomes Mid Ulster issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 597 granted against 14 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
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Mid Ulster planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 108 days from application to decision (52 days beyond the eight week target), across 805 decisions with both dates published. 19% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 39% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 338 days. Ranked 44 of 45 UK councils on decision speed (national median 57 days). 98% 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/mid-ulster">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>