Decision times · Scotland
How long planning decisions take in Na h-Eileanan Siar
57 days. Ranked 189 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Na h-Eileanan Siar took 57 days from submission to decision — 1 day beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 376 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Na h-Eileanan Siar compares
Year to September 2026
Na h-Eileanan Siar takes longer than the country as a whole: 1 day above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 50%.
The average here is 63 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 123 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 187 50%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 102 27%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 87 23%
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 | 57 | 189 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 54 | 111 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 50 | 70 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 33 | 9 of 236 |
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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Telecoms 75 decided 19 days
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Prior approval 48 decided 27 days
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Trees 11 decided 33 days
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Conditions 10 decided 47 days
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Outline 34 decided 56 days
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Full applications 176 decided 82 days
What Na h-Eileanan Siar decides
Year to September 2026
Na h-Eileanan Siar issued 376 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 99% were approvals: 357 granted against 3 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 Na h-Eileanan Siar?
The median planning application decided by Na h-Eileanan Siar in the year to September 2026 took 57 days from submission to decision, 1 day beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 376 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 189 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Na h-Eileanan Siar meet the eight week target?
50% of the 376 decisions Na h-Eileanan Siar made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 77% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 123 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Na h-Eileanan Siar faster or slower than average?
Na h-Eileanan Siar is slower than average: its median of 57 days is 1 day above the national median of 56 days.
What proportion of applications does Na h-Eileanan Siar approve?
99% of the clear-cut outcomes Na h-Eileanan Siar issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 357 granted against 3 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Na h-Eileanan Siar planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 57 days from application to decision (1 day beyond the eight week target), across 376 decisions with both dates published. 50% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 77% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 123 days. Ranked 189 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 99% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.