Decision times · East Midlands
How long planning decisions take in West Lindsey
54 days.
In the year to December 2026, the median planning application decided by West Lindsey took 54 days from submission to decision — 2 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 422 decisions where the council published both dates.
This council carries a figure but no rank
Not ranked yet: our records do not yet pass the historical coverage, monthly continuity, missing-date and refresh checks for this window. The figure above is still what the published dates say; it is left out of the league table so it cannot distort the ranking. See the methodology.
How West Lindsey compares
Year to December 2026
West Lindsey decides faster than the country as a whole: 3 days below the national median of 57 days. Nationally 49% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 57%.
The average here is 70 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 137 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.
-
Within eight weeks the statutory target 240 57%
-
Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 107 25%
-
Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 75 18%
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.
-
Amendments 18 decided 13 days
-
Telecoms 20 decided 22 days
-
Outline 17 decided 23 days
-
Other 30 decided 34 days
-
Trees 61 decided 40 days
-
Prior approval 10 decided 51 days
-
Lawful development 15 decided 54 days
-
Conditions 60 decided 55 days
-
Householder 87 decided 59 days
-
Full applications 76 decided 85 days
-
Heritage and listed buildings 14 decided 101 days
What West Lindsey decides
Year to December 2026
West Lindsey issued 422 decisions in the year to December 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 91% were approvals: 337 granted against 33 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 West Lindsey?
The median planning application decided by West Lindsey in the year to December 2026 took 54 days from submission to decision, 2 days inside the eight week target. That is measured across 422 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date.
Does West Lindsey meet the eight week target?
57% of the 422 decisions West Lindsey made in the year to December 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 82% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 137 days. Councils can agree an extension of time with an applicant, so a decision past eight weeks is not necessarily a missed deadline.
Is West Lindsey faster or slower than average?
West Lindsey is faster than average: its median of 54 days is 3 days below the national median of 57 days.
What proportion of applications does West Lindsey approve?
91% of the clear-cut outcomes West Lindsey issued in the year to December 2026 were approvals: 337 granted against 33 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.
Cite these figures
Click the text to select the whole citation.
West Lindsey planning decision times, year to December 2026: median 54 days from application to decision (2 days inside the eight week target), across 422 decisions with both dates published. 57% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 82% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 137 days. 91% 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).
Embed these figures
Paste either snippet into your page. Click a snippet to select all of it. The credit line is part of the embed.
<script src="https://planindex.co.uk/embed/decision-times.js" data-council="west-lindsey" defer></script>If your CMS strips scripts, use the frame directly:
<iframe src="https://planindex.co.uk/embed/decision-times/west-lindsey" title="Planning decision times in West Lindsey" width="100%" height="215" loading="lazy" frameborder="0"></iframe>
<p>Data: <a href="https://planindex.co.uk/planning-decision-times/west-lindsey">Planning decision times, from PlanIndex</a></p>