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Decision times · Scotland

How long planning decisions take in Midlothian

59 days. Ranked 213 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Midlothian took 59 days from submission to decision — 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 330 decisions where the council published both dates.

59 days
Median decision 3 days beyond the eight week target
213 of 343
UK rank down 153 places in a year
45%
Within eight weeks 79% within thirteen
144 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How Midlothian compares

Year to September 2026

Midlothian takes longer than the country as a whole: 3 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 45%.

The average here is 73 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 144 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 148 45%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 113 34%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 69 21%

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.

Midlothian: median days from application to decision, by rolling twelve month window. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.
Twelve months to Median days UK rank
September 2026 59 213 of 343
June 2026 57 207 of 328
March 2026 50 71 of 243
December 2025 23 2 of 236
September 2025 48 60 of 324
June 2025 48 25 of 313
March 2025 48 23 of 315
December 2024 48 26 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 48 days, Midlothian has moved down 153 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.

  1. Trees 62 decided 20 days
  2. Advertising 10 decided 56 days
  3. Full applications 186 decided 66 days
  4. Lawful development 23 decided 68 days
  5. Heritage and listed buildings 27 decided 76 days

How these types compare nationally

What Midlothian decides

Year to September 2026

Midlothian issued 330 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 93% were approvals: 266 granted against 20 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 September 2026 took 59 days from submission to decision, 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 330 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 213 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does Midlothian meet the eight week target?

45% of the 330 decisions Midlothian made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 79% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 144 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 59 days is 3 days above the national median of 56 days.

Is Midlothian getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 48 days, Midlothian has moved down 153 places in the table. Its median has risen by 11 days.

What proportion of applications does Midlothian approve?

93% of the clear-cut outcomes Midlothian issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 266 granted against 20 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 September 2026: median 59 days from application to decision (3 days beyond the eight week target), across 330 decisions with both dates published. 45% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 79% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 144 days. Ranked 213 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 93% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.