Decision times · Scotland
How long planning decisions take in Midlothian
61 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by Midlothian took 61 days from submission to decision — 5 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 353 decisions where the council published both dates.
This council carries a figure but no rank
Not ranked yet: our records do not yet pass the historical coverage, monthly continuity, missing-date and refresh checks for this window. The figure above is still what the published dates say; it is left out of the league table so it cannot distort the ranking. See the methodology.
How Midlothian compares
Year to December 2026
Midlothian takes longer than the country as a whole: 4 days above the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 41%.
The average here is 74 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 150 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 145 41%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 129 37%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 79 22%
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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Trees 56 decided 21 days
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Advertising 11 decided 58 days
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Lawful development 28 decided 66 days
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Full applications 205 decided 67 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 32 decided 68 days
What Midlothian decides
Year to December 2026
Midlothian issued 353 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 93% were approvals: 293 granted against 21 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 Midlothian?
The median planning application decided by Midlothian in the year to December 2026 took 61 days from submission to decision, 5 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 353 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does Midlothian meet the eight week target?
41% of the 353 decisions Midlothian made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 78% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 150 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Midlothian faster or slower than average?
Midlothian is slower than average: its median of 61 days is 4 days above the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does Midlothian approve?
93% of the clear-cut outcomes Midlothian issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 293 granted against 21 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Midlothian planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 61 days from application to decision (5 days beyond the eight week target), across 353 decisions with both dates published. 41% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 78% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 150 days. 93% 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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