Decision times · Northern Ireland
How long planning decisions take in Newry, Mourne and Down
182 days. Ranked 340 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by Newry, Mourne and Down took 182 days from submission to decision — 126 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 383 decisions where the council published both dates.
How Newry, Mourne and Down compares
Year to September 2026
Newry, Mourne and Down takes longer than the country as a whole: 126 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 10%.
The average here is 197 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 340 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 39 10%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 38 10%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 306 80%
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 | 182 | 340 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 168 | 327 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 143 | 233 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 393 | 233 of 236 |
| September 2025 | 391 | 324 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 391 | 312 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 377 | 314 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 361 | 318 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 391 days, Newry, Mourne and Down has moved down 16 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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Conditions 93 decided 101 days
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Amendments 11 decided 126 days
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Reserved matters 16 decided 199 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 10 decided 202 days
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Full applications 213 decided 209 days
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Outline 27 decided 259 days
What Newry, Mourne and Down decides
Year to September 2026
Newry, Mourne and Down issued 383 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 95% were approvals: 263 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 Newry, Mourne and Down?
The median planning application decided by Newry, Mourne and Down in the year to September 2026 took 182 days from submission to decision, 126 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 383 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 340 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does Newry, Mourne and Down meet the eight week target?
10% of the 383 decisions Newry, Mourne and Down made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 20% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 340 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is Newry, Mourne and Down faster or slower than average?
Newry, Mourne and Down is slower than average: its median of 182 days is 126 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is Newry, Mourne and Down getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 391 days, Newry, Mourne and Down has moved down 16 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 209 days.
What proportion of applications does Newry, Mourne and Down approve?
95% of the clear-cut outcomes Newry, Mourne and Down issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 263 granted against 14 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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Newry, Mourne and Down planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 182 days from application to decision (126 days beyond the eight week target), across 383 decisions with both dates published. 10% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 20% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 340 days. Ranked 340 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 95% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.