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Decision times · South West

How long planning decisions take in South Hams

53 days. Ranked 67 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by South Hams took 53 days from submission to decision — 3 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 2,263 decisions where the council published both dates.

53 days
Median decision 3 days inside the eight week target
67 of 343
UK rank up 14 places in a year
59%
Within eight weeks 86% within thirteen
110 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How South Hams compares

Year to September 2026

South Hams decides faster than the country as a whole: 3 days below the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 59%.

The average here is 62 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 1,335 59%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 604 27%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 324 14%

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.

South Hams: 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 53 67 of 343
June 2026 52 67 of 328
March 2026 50 59 of 243
December 2025 48 71 of 236
September 2025 50 81 of 324
June 2025 55 90 of 313
March 2025 55 94 of 315
December 2024 55 93 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 50 days, South Hams has moved up 14 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. Outline 169 decided 15 days
  2. Other 122 decided 26 days
  3. Conditions 240 decided 37 days
  4. Trees 321 decided 39 days
  5. Amendments 181 decided 52 days
  6. Prior approval 90 decided 53 days
  7. Heritage and listed buildings 175 decided 59 days
  8. Lawful development 129 decided 60 days
  9. Householder 439 decided 63 days
  10. Advertising 13 decided 66 days
  11. Full applications 345 decided 75 days

How these types compare nationally

What South Hams decides

Year to September 2026

South Hams issued 2,263 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 89% were approvals: 1,684 granted against 203 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 Hams?

The median planning application decided by South Hams in the year to September 2026 took 53 days from submission to decision, 3 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 2,263 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 67 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does South Hams meet the eight week target?

59% of the 2,263 decisions South Hams made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 86% 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 South Hams faster or slower than average?

South Hams is faster than average: its median of 53 days is 3 days below the national median of 56 days.

Is South Hams getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 50 days, South Hams has moved up 14 places in the table. Its median has risen by 3 days.

What proportion of applications does South Hams approve?

89% of the clear-cut outcomes South Hams issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 1,684 granted against 203 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

South Hams planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 53 days from application to decision (3 days inside the eight week target), across 2,263 decisions with both dates published. 59% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 86% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 110 days. Ranked 67 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 89% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.