Decision times · East Midlands
How long planning decisions take in South Holland
58 days. Ranked 203 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by South Holland took 58 days from submission to decision — 2 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 206 decisions where the council published both dates.
How South Holland compares
Year to September 2026
South Holland takes longer than the country as a whole: 2 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 46%.
The average here is 85 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 168 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 95 46%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 60 29%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 51 25%
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 | 58 | 203 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 57 | 211 of 328 |
| September 2025 | 54 | 126 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 54 | 80 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 54 | 83 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 55 | 103 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 54 days, South Holland has moved down 77 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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Trees 25 decided 40 days
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Conditions 44 decided 52 days
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Lawful development 11 decided 55 days
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Full applications 96 decided 77 days
What South Holland decides
Year to September 2026
South Holland issued 206 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 78% were approvals: 151 granted against 42 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 Holland?
The median planning application decided by South Holland in the year to September 2026 took 58 days from submission to decision, 2 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 206 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 203 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does South Holland meet the eight week target?
46% of the 206 decisions South Holland made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 75% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 168 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 Holland faster or slower than average?
South Holland is slower than average: its median of 58 days is 2 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is South Holland getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 54 days, South Holland has moved down 77 places in the table. Its median has risen by 4 days.
What proportion of applications does South Holland approve?
78% of the clear-cut outcomes South Holland issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 151 granted against 42 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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South Holland planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 58 days from application to decision (2 days beyond the eight week target), across 206 decisions with both dates published. 46% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 75% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 168 days. Ranked 203 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 78% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.