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Decision times · Scotland

How long planning decisions take in West Lothian

64 days. Ranked 251 of 343.

In the year to September 2026, the median planning application decided by West Lothian took 64 days from submission to decision — 8 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 600 decisions where the council published both dates.

64 days
Median decision 8 days beyond the eight week target
251 of 343
UK rank down 22 places in a year
35%
Within eight weeks 83% within thirteen
112 days
Nine in ten decided by The wait to budget for

How West Lothian compares

Year to September 2026

West Lothian takes longer than the country as a whole: 8 days above the national median of 56 days. Nationally 55% of applications are decided within eight weeks; here it is 35%.

The average here is 74 days, longer than the median because a handful of applications take very much longer than the rest. For planning around, 112 days is the more useful number: nine applications in ten were decided inside it.

  1. Within eight weeks the statutory target 208 35%
  2. Eight to thirteen weeks the major development band 290 48%
  3. Over thirteen weeks commonly an agreed extension 102 17%

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.

West Lothian: 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 64 251 of 343
June 2026 62 241 of 328
March 2026 60 196 of 243
December 2025 57 183 of 236
September 2025 61 229 of 324
June 2025 63 223 of 313
March 2025 63 229 of 315
December 2024 63 234 of 319

Against the same twelve months a year earlier, when the median was 61 days, West Lothian has moved down 22 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. Trees 44 decided 43 days
  2. Outline 32 decided 44 days
  3. Lawful development 88 decided 52 days
  4. Householder 170 decided 59 days
  5. Advertising 41 decided 63 days
  6. Heritage and listed buildings 24 decided 70 days
  7. Full applications 171 decided 77 days
  8. Conditions 16 decided 93 days

How these types compare nationally

What West Lothian decides

Year to September 2026

West Lothian issued 600 decisions in the year to September 2026. Of the clear-cut outcomes, 80% were approvals: 420 granted against 105 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 Lothian?

The median planning application decided by West Lothian in the year to September 2026 took 64 days from submission to decision, 8 days beyond the eight week target. That is measured across 600 decisions where the council published both a start date and a decision date. It ranks 251 of 343 UK councils on decision speed.

Does West Lothian meet the eight week target?

35% of the 600 decisions West Lothian made in the year to September 2026 came within eight weeks of the application being received, and 83% within thirteen weeks. Nine in ten were decided within 112 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 Lothian faster or slower than average?

West Lothian is slower than average: its median of 64 days is 8 days above the national median of 56 days.

Is West Lothian getting faster or slower?

Against the same twelve month window a year earlier, when its median was 61 days, West Lothian has moved down 22 places in the table. Its median has risen by 3 days.

What proportion of applications does West Lothian approve?

80% of the clear-cut outcomes West Lothian issued in the year to September 2026 were approvals: 420 granted against 105 refused. Split decisions, withdrawals and other outcomes are excluded from that percentage.

Cite these figures

Click the text to select the whole citation.

West Lothian planning decision times, year to September 2026: median 64 days from application to decision (8 days beyond the eight week target), across 600 decisions with both dates published. 35% were decided within the eight week statutory target, 83% within thirteen weeks; nine in ten within 112 days. Ranked 251 of 343 UK councils on decision speed (national median 56 days). 80% of clear-cut outcomes were approvals. Source: PlanIndex, planindex.co.uk.