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NI Planning Performance 2025/26 — A Practical Guide for Architects
Ranked by processing speed, approval rates and major application throughput. All 11 council areas covered. Data: DfI/NISRA Q3 2025/26.
By QUINTIN QS
1 Introduction
Planning permission is the first constraint on every project. Before a design is agreed, before a contractor is appointed, before a foundation is dug — the council planning department determines whether and when it happens. In Northern Ireland, the statutory target for local applications is 15 weeks. In the most recent published data (April–December 2025), 3 of 11 councils met that target. The other 8 did not. At the worst-performing council, the average application took 46 weeks — more than ten months. This guide ranks all 11 NI council areas by planning performance and extracts the metrics most relevant to architects programming projects, managing client expectations, and choosing where to submit. All figures are from the DfI/NISRA NI Planning Statistics Q3 2025/26 bulletin (April–December 2025, provisional).
2 Local Application Rankings
Ranked 1 (fastest) to 11 (slowest) by average processing time. Statutory target: 15 weeks. Figures are year-to-date, April–December 2025.
| Rank | Council | Avg Weeks | vs 15w Target | Approval % | Decisions (YTD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mid & East Antrim | 7.4w | ✓ −7.6w inside | 92.8% | 419 |
| 2 | Fermanagh & Omagh | 8.6w | ✓ −6.4w inside | 96.6% | 585 |
| 3 | Antrim & Newtownabbey | 13.4w | ✓ −1.6w inside | 93.1% | 393 |
| 4 | Ards & North Down | 16.2w | ✗ +1.2w over | 96.8% | 553 |
| 5 | Belfast | 17.7w | ✗ +2.7w over | 96.1% | 846 |
| 6 | Causeway Coast & Glens | 20.7w | ✗ +5.7w over | 96.1% | 645 |
| 7 | Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon | 20.8w | ✗ +5.8w over | 94.4% | 608 |
| 8 | Mid Ulster | 21.4w | ✗ +6.4w over | 97.4% | 740 |
| 9 | Derry City & Strabane | 24.6w | ✗ +9.6w over | 96.6% | 381 |
| 10 | Lisburn & Castlereagh | 33.0w | ✗ +18.0w over | 90.0% | 500 |
| 11 | Newry, Mourne & Down | 46.0w | ✗ +31.0w over | 88.0% | 783 |
Note: Ranks 6 and 7 are separated by 0.1 week (20.7w vs 20.8w) — effectively a tie. Small differences at this scale should not be read as meaningful separation.
3 Major Applications (30-week target)
Major applications cover large residential developments, commercial schemes, and government/civic projects. Across Northern Ireland the Apr–Dec 2025 average was 38.6 weeks — the target was missed — and only 40.4% of major applications were decided within 30 weeks.
| Council | Avg Weeks (Major) | vs 30w Target | % within 30w |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim & Newtownabbey | 24.7w | ✓ inside | 100% |
| Mid & East Antrim | 26.6w | ✓ inside | 66.7% |
| Causeway Coast & Glens | 27.2w | ✓ inside | 57.1% |
| Derry City & Strabane | 32.4w | ✗ +2.4w | 44.4% |
| Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon | 37.4w | ✗ +7.4w | 42.9% |
| Fermanagh & Omagh | 38.0w | ✗ +8.0w | 33.3% |
| Mid Ulster | 45.9w | ✗ +15.9w | 0% |
| Lisburn & Castlereagh | 46.2w | ✗ +16.2w | 50.0% |
| Belfast | 48.6w | ✗ +18.6w | 26.3% |
| Newry, Mourne & Down | 58.8w | ✗ +28.8w | 14.3% |
| Ards & North Down | 89.4w | ✗ +59.4w | 0% |
| Northern Ireland average | 38.6w | ✗ +8.6w | 40.4% |
Note: Ards & North Down’s 89.4-week average is based on a small sample (3 major applications decided YTD) and should be treated with caution. Low sample sizes cause significant volatility in major application averages.
4 What This Means for Architects
1. Programme allowance by council.
Any project in Newry, Mourne & Down or Lisburn & Castlereagh should have a minimum 40–50 week planning allowance built into the programme, not 15. The statutory target is not a safe planning assumption in these councils.
2. Approval rates are consistently high across NI.
The range is 88.0% (Newry, Mourne & Down) to 97.4% (Mid Ulster). Refusal is not the primary risk — delay is. A valid, compliant application is likely to be approved in every council; the variable is when.
3. Major applications are slower than local applications in every council.
The NI average for major applications is 38.6 weeks against a 30-week target. Only Antrim & Newtownabbey (24.7w), Mid & East Antrim (26.6w) and Causeway Coast & Glens (27.2w) averaged within the statutory period. For any major application in Belfast (48.6w average) or Newry (58.8w), a 12–15 month programme allocation is a realistic minimum.
4. Pre-application consultation (PAC) adds a minimum 12 weeks on top.
PAC is mandatory for major applications and must be completed before an application can even be submitted. This 12-week minimum is not included in the processing time figures above — it is additional. Total elapsed time from first engagement to decision on a major application should be calculated as: PAC (12w minimum) + processing time.
5. Three councils improved significantly since 2024/25.
Fermanagh & Omagh moved from 21.2w to 8.6w. Antrim & Newtownabbey from 19.7w to 13.4w. Belfast from 30.5w to 17.7w. These improvements are provisional and may not persist, but they represent a genuine shift in throughput.
6. Mid Ulster: highest approval rate, but misses the processing target.
Mid Ulster has the highest approval rate (97.4%) but misses the processing target (21.4w). Decisions are almost always positive but not always fast. For architects in the area, the risk is programme, not outcome.
7. Newry, Mourne & Down: the highest-risk planning environment.
It has both the slowest processing (46w) and the lowest approval rate (88%). Neither metric is catastrophic in isolation, but combined they represent the highest planning risk environment of any NI council in current data.
5 Methodology and Data Caveats
- Data period: April to December 2025 (9 months, Q1–Q3 of financial year 2025/26)
- These are provisional figures, subject to revision in the full 2025/26 annual report (expected July/August 2026)
- Processing time uses the median, not the mean, to reduce the effect of extreme outliers
- Major application figures are based on small samples (fewer than 20 decisions per council in most cases) — percentage-within-target figures are highly sensitive to individual cases
- Pre-application consultation (PAC) time is not included in processing figures
- Departmental applications are excluded from council figures
- Source: DfI/NISRA NI Planning Statistics Q3 2025/26, Table 4.2.6 (local) and Table 3.2.6 (major)
Full source bulletin: DfI/NISRA Northern Ireland Planning Statistics October–December 2025 (published April 2026)
https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/publications/northern-ireland-planning-statistics-october-december-2025