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Decision times · South West

How long planning decisions take in North Devon

55 days. Ranked 100 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by North Devon took 55 days from submission to decision — 1 day inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,088 decisions where the council published both dates.

55 days
Median decision 1 day inside the eight week target
100 of 343
UK rank up 192 places in a year
56%
Within eight weeks 84% within thirteen
110 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How North Devon compares

Year to September 2026

North Devon decides faster than the country as a whole: 1 day below the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 56%.

The average here is 66 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 110 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 605 56%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 307 28%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 176 16%

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.

North Devon: 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 55 100 of 343
June 2026 55 128 of 328
March 2026 53 97 of 243
December 2025 49 95 of 236
September 2025 80 292 of 324
June 2025 83 281 of 313
March 2025 83 289 of 315
December 2024 83 293 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 80 days, North Devon has moved up 192 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. Prior approval 96 decided 28 days
  2. Amendments 109 decided 44 days
  3. Trees 134 decided 49 days
  4. Conditions 115 decided 52 days
  5. Lawful development 53 decided 56 days
  6. Advertising 18 decided 57 days
  7. Full applications 465 decided 62 days
  8. Heritage and listed buildings 69 decided 64 days
  9. Outline 16 decided 67 days

How these types compare nationally

What North Devon decides

Year to September 2026

North Devon issued 1,094 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 96% were approvals: 994 granted against 37 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 North Devon?

The median planning application decided by North Devon in the year to September 2026 took 55 days from submission to decision, 1 day inside the eight week target. That is measured across 1,088 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 100 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does North Devon meet the eight week target?

56% of the 1,088 decisions North Devon made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 84% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 110 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.

Is North Devon faster or slower than average?

North Devon is faster than average: its median of 55 days is 1 day below the national median of 56 days.

Is North Devon getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 80 days, North Devon has moved up 192 places in the table. Its median has fallen by 25 days.

What proportion of applications does North Devon approve?

96% of the clear-cut outcomes North Devon issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 994 granted against 37 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

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North Devon planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 55 days from application to decision (1 day inside the eight week target), across 1,088 decisions with both dates published. 56% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 84% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 110 days. Ranked 100 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 96% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.