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Decision times · East Midlands

How long planning decisions take in South Holland

56 days. Ranked 22 of 45.

In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by South Holland took 56 days from submission to decision — exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 523 decisions where the council published both dates.

56 days
Median decision exactly the eight week target
22 of 45
UK rank First measured window
52%
Within eight weeks 81% within thirteen
141 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How South Holland compares

Year to December 2026

South Holland decides faster than the country as a whole: 1 day below the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 52%.

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.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 270 52%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 156 30%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 97 19%

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 Holland: median days from application to decision, by rolling twelve month window. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.
Twelve months to Median days UK rank
December 2026 56 22 of 45
September 2026 56 32 of 56

By type of application

Year to December 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. Amendments 23 decided 28 days
  2. Trees 47 decided 41 days
  3. Conditions 89 decided 51 days
  4. Lawful development 29 decided 55 days
  5. Prior approval 15 decided 55 days
  6. Outline 10 decided 57 days
  7. Advertising 14 decided 59 days
  8. Full applications 255 decided 69 days
  9. Heritage and listed buildings 15 decided 71 days

How these types compare nationally

What South Holland decides

Year to December 2026

South Holland issued 523 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 81% were approvals: 402 granted against 96 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 December 2026 took 56 days from submission to decision, exactly the eight week target. That is measured across 523 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 22 of 45 UK councils on decision speed.

Does South Holland meet the eight week target?

52% of the 523 decisions South Holland made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 81% 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 South Holland faster or slower than average?

South Holland is faster than average: its median of 56 days is 1 day below the national median of 57 days.

What proportion of applications does South Holland approve?

81% of the clear-cut outcomes South Holland issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 402 granted against 96 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 December 2026: median 56 days from application to decision (exactly the eight week target), across 523 decisions with both dates published. 52% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 81% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 141 days. Ranked 22 of 45 UK councils on decision speed (national median 57 days). 81% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.

Or take the data itself: this council's history (CSV) or the full league table (CSV).

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