Planning decisions in South Hams

How long South Hams takes to decide a planning application and how many it approves, from the 1,852 decisions it made in the twelve months to September 2026. Days run from validation to decision, the clock the council reports against; the wait from receipt is shown beside it. How the figures are made.

50 daysmedian from validation to decision (UK 54); 55 from receipt
77%decided within eight weeks (UK 66%), 92% within thirteen
90%approved (UK 90%): 1,482 approved, 173 refused, 80 withdrawn
100 of 388UK rank for speed, down 8 places on last year; 242 of 388 for approvals
056 October 2025: 49 days, 151 decisionsOctNovember 2025: 54 days, 129 decisionsNovDecember 2025: 54 days, 158 decisionsDecJanuary 2026: 56 days, 134 decisionsJanFebruary 2026: 59 days, 146 decisionsFebMarch 2026: 52 days, 143 decisionsMarApril 2026: 55 days, 155 decisionsAprMay 2026: 52 days, 148 decisionsMayJune 2026: 61 days, 152 decisionsJunJuly 2026: 56 days, 187 decisionsJulAugust 2026: 55 days, 166 decisionsAugSeptember 2026: 56 days, 183 decisionsSept
Median days from validation to decision, by month of decision. Dashed line: UK median (54 days). Grid at 56 and 91 days, the eight and thirteen week targets.

By kind of application

KindMedian daysWithin 8 weeksApprovedDecisionsUK rank
Householder applications5277%94%39740 of 200
Full applications5654%90%277143 of 359
Prior approvals2894%68%25090 of 340
Tree works3396%94%24385 of 324
Discharge of conditions3681%91%20522 of 310
Amendments4976%92%163196 of 356
Listed building consent5477%100%14438 of 307
Lawful development certificates5466%81%130220 of 348
Outline applications *5157%64%1525 of 110

Appeals

74 appeals against South Hams decisions were decided by the Planning Inspectorate in the window, 43 for every 100 refusals; 27% were allowed. Every appeal in South Hams.

By year

Year decidedMedian daysWithin 8 weeksApprovedDecisions
20255166%89%671
2026 so far5554%90%1,414

Decided in the last three weeks

Built nightly from South Hams's planning register. Ranks are among the 388 published councils. See planning applications in South Hams, appeals, or get alerts for South Hams.

About these figures

How are decision times measured?
Days from the date the council validated the application to the date it decided it, for applications approved or refused in the window. That is the clock councils report against and the official statistics use. Each council’s page also shows the count from receipt, which is what the applicant actually waited. Withdrawn and undecided applications are not timed.
Why do these figures differ from the council’s own?
Councils count an agreed extension of time as decided on time; we treat the calendar as the calendar. Our figures are also live and rolling, where official statistics are quarterly and annual. So a council’s own within-eight-weeks figure will usually sit a little above ours.
What counts as approved?
Approval rate is approvals divided by approvals plus refusals. Withdrawals, and decisions whose outcome the register does not state, are counted in the totals but not in the rate.
Why is a council missing?
A council is published when it has at least 25 timed decisions in the window and its register’s decision data passes our consistency checks. Councils that fail are listed with the reason rather than shown with a number that would mislead.
How often is this updated?
Nightly, from the decisions we collect from every council register we monitor. The window is the twelve months to the last complete month.