Decision times · Scotland
How long planning decisions take in South Lanarkshire
70 days. Ranked 274 of 343.
In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by South Lanarkshire took 70 days from submission to decision — 14 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 843 decisions where the council published both dates.
How South Lanarkshire compares
Year to September 2026
South Lanarkshire takes longer than the country as a whole: 14 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 32%.
The average here is 83 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 140 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
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Within eight weeks the statutory target 268 32%
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Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 333 40%
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Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 242 29%
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 | 70 | 274 of 343 |
| June 2026 | 64 | 263 of 328 |
| March 2026 | 60 | 193 of 243 |
| December 2025 | 57 | 181 of 236 |
| September 2025 | 69 | 269 of 324 |
| June 2025 | 75 | 274 of 313 |
| March 2025 | 75 | 278 of 315 |
| December 2024 | 76 | 286 of 319 |
Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 69 days, South Lanarkshire has moved down 5 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 32 decided 40 days
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Lawful development 61 decided 43 days
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Conditions 36 decided 44 days
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Trees 23 decided 61 days
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Advertising 35 decided 63 days
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Householder 308 decided 63 days
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Heritage and listed buildings 44 decided 88 days
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Outline 19 decided 96 days
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Full applications 255 decided 98 days
What South Lanarkshire decides
Year to September 2026
South Lanarkshire issued 843 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 94% were approvals: 737 granted against 43 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 Lanarkshire?
The median planning application decided by South Lanarkshire in the year to September 2026 took 70 days from submission to decision, 14 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 843 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 274 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.
Does South Lanarkshire meet the eight week target?
32% of the 843 decisions South Lanarkshire made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 71% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 140 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 Lanarkshire faster or slower than average?
South Lanarkshire is slower than average: its median of 70 days is 14 days above the national median of 56 days.
Is South Lanarkshire getting faster or slower?
Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 69 days, South Lanarkshire has moved down 5 places in the table. Its median has risen by 1 day.
What proportion of applications does South Lanarkshire approve?
94% of the clear-cut outcomes South Lanarkshire issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 737 granted against 43 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
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South Lanarkshire planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 70 days from application to decision (14 days beyond the eight week target), across 843 decisions with both dates published. 32% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 71% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 140 days. Ranked 274 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 94% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.