Decision times · Scotland
How long planning decisions take in North Lanarkshire
55 days. Ranked 107 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by North Lanarkshire took 55 days from submission to decision — 1 day inside the eight week target. That is measured across 697 decisions where the council published both dates.
How North Lanarkshire compares
Year to September 2026
North Lanarkshire 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 53%.
The average here is 64 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 122 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 369 53%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 209 30%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 119 17%
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 | 55 | 107 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 50 | 57 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 48 | 48 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 42 | 41 of 236 |
| September 2025 | 42 | 38 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 50 | 35 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 52 | 52 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 52 | 55 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 42 days, North Lanarkshire has moved down 69 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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Lawful development 86 decided 11 days
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Prior approval 100 decided 24 days
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Trees 15 decided 46 days
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Advertising 30 decided 53 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 15 decided 57 days
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Full applications 406 decided 63 days
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Outline 15 decided 64 days
What North Lanarkshire decides
Year to September 2026
North Lanarkshire issued 697 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 97% were approvals: 587 granted against 17 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 Lanarkshire?
The median planning application decided by North Lanarkshire in the year to September 2026 took 55 days from submission to decision, 1 day inside the eight week target. That is measured across 697 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 107 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does North Lanarkshire meet the eight week target?
53% of the 697 decisions North Lanarkshire made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 83% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 122 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 Lanarkshire faster or slower than average?
North Lanarkshire is faster than average: its median of 55 days is 1 day below the national median of 56 days.
Is North Lanarkshire getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 42 days, North Lanarkshire has moved down 69 places in the table. Its median has risen by 13 days.
What proportion of applications does North Lanarkshire approve?
97% of the clear-cut outcomes North Lanarkshire issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 587 granted against 17 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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North Lanarkshire planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 55 days from application to decision (1 day inside the eight week target), across 697 decisions with both dates published. 53% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 83% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 122 days. Ranked 107 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 97% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.