Decision times · Scotland
How long planning decisions take in South Ayrshire
56 days. Ranked 158 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by South Ayrshire took 56 days from submission to decision — exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 567 decisions where the council published both dates.
How South Ayrshire compares
Year to September 2026
South Ayrshire sits exactly on the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 53%.
The average here is 63 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 104 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 302 53%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 180 32%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 85 15%
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 | 56 | 158 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 52 | 74 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 50 | 69 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 48 | 81 of 236 |
| September 2025 | 51 | 91 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 53 | 69 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 53 | 70 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 53 | 72 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 51 days, South Ayrshire has moved down 67 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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Prior approval 33 decided 28 days
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Trees 29 decided 36 days
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Advertising 15 decided 45 days
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Lawful development 43 decided 47 days
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Full applications 369 decided 57 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 60 decided 58 days
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Outline 14 decided 70 days
What South Ayrshire decides
Year to September 2026
South Ayrshire issued 567 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 98% were approvals: 551 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 South Ayrshire?
The median planning application decided by South Ayrshire in the year to September 2026 took 56 days from submission to decision, exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 567 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 158 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does South Ayrshire meet the eight week target?
53% of the 567 decisions South Ayrshire made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 85% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 104 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is South Ayrshire faster or slower than average?
South Ayrshire sits exactly on the national median of 56 days.
Is South Ayrshire getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 51 days, South Ayrshire has moved down 67 places in the table. Its median has risen by 5 days.
What proportion of applications does South Ayrshire approve?
98% of the clear-cut outcomes South Ayrshire issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 551 granted against 10 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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South Ayrshire planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 56 days from application to decision (exactly the eight week target), across 567 decisions with both dates published. 53% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 85% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 104 days. Ranked 158 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 98% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.