Decision times · Yorkshire and The Humber
How long planning decisions take in North Yorkshire
59 days. Ranked 205 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by North Yorkshire took 59 days from submission to decision — 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 5,607 decisions where the council published both dates.
How North Yorkshire compares
Year to September 2026
North Yorkshire takes longer than the country as a whole: 3 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 47%.
The average here is 76 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 141 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 2,662 47%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 1,583 28%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 1,362 24%
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 | 59 | 205 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 56 | 146 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 54 | 107 of 243 |
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 39 decided 27 days
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Prior approval 168 decided 34 days
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Other 60 decided 41 days
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Trees 1,011 decided 41 days
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Amendments 257 decided 47 days
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Lawful development 214 decided 56 days
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Outline 117 decided 56 days
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Conditions 843 decided 60 days
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Householder 356 decided 68 days
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Full applications 2,016 decided 75 days
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Advertising 98 decided 76 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 346 decided 92 days
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Reserved matters 15 decided 102 days
What North Yorkshire decides
Year to September 2026
North Yorkshire issued 5,607 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 89% were approvals: 4,185 granted against 501 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 Yorkshire?
The median planning application decided by North Yorkshire in the year to September 2026 took 59 days from submission to decision, 3 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 5,607 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 205 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does North Yorkshire meet the eight week target?
47% of the 5,607 decisions North Yorkshire made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 76% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 141 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 Yorkshire faster or slower than average?
North Yorkshire is slower than average: its median of 59 days is 3 days above the national median of 56 days.
What proportion of applications does North Yorkshire approve?
89% of the clear-cut outcomes North Yorkshire issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 4,185 granted against 501 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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North Yorkshire planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 59 days from application to decision (3 days beyond the eight week target), across 5,607 decisions with both dates published. 47% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 76% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 141 days. Ranked 205 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 89% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.