Decision times · Yorkshire and The Humber
How long planning decisions take in North Lincolnshire
55 days. Ranked 119 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by North Lincolnshire took 55 days from submission to decision — 1 day inside the eight week target. That is measured across 169 decisions where the council published both dates.
How North Lincolnshire compares
Year to September 2026
North Lincolnshire 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 57%.
The average here is 93 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 189 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 96 57%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 22 13%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 51 30%
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 | 119 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 55 | 136 of 328 |
| June 2025 | 69 | 255 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 69 | 256 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 69 | 266 of 319 |
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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Amendments 14 decided 40 days
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Trees 17 decided 46 days
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Householder 39 decided 54 days
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Outline 14 decided 56 days
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Full applications 53 decided 92 days
What North Lincolnshire decides
Year to September 2026
North Lincolnshire issued 169 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 94% were approvals: 144 granted against 10 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 Lincolnshire?
The median planning application decided by North Lincolnshire in the year to September 2026 took 55 days from submission to decision, 1 day inside the eight week target. That is measured across 169 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 119 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does North Lincolnshire meet the eight week target?
57% of the 169 decisions North Lincolnshire made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 70% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 189 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 Lincolnshire faster or slower than average?
North Lincolnshire is faster than average: its median of 55 days is 1 day below the national median of 56 days.
What proportion of applications does North Lincolnshire approve?
94% of the clear-cut outcomes North Lincolnshire issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 144 granted against 10 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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North Lincolnshire planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 55 days from application to decision (1 day inside the eight week target), across 169 decisions with both dates published. 57% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 70% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 189 days. Ranked 119 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 94% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.