Public performance reports

The future development of the South Lanarkshire area is a key responsibility for the council. We ensure that development takes place in the right place, at the appropriate time, in a sustainable way and in the best interest of the public. Planning and Building Standards achieves this by preparing and monitoring development plans, considering planning and building warrant applications and, where appropriate, enforcing the relevant legislation.

Major developments – average number of weeks to decision - Target - 39.5 weeks

What this means
This indicator sets out the average time taken by the planning service to process planning applications for major developments.

Why this matters
This indicator measures the efficiency of our planning application process in processing major or national developments.

Our performance and how we compare

How we have performed in improving this public service
This measure is challenging, as the target is an average number of weeks to a decision, meaning that it is impacted negatively if even a relatively small number of major planning applications take much longer to determine.

During 2024-25, the Planning Service dealt with 16 major applications, nine of which took longer to determine than the 39-week target. Most of the applications involved proposals for renewable energy and minerals development, with delays in decision-making that were due, for example, to additional information not being submitted by the applicant.

Local developments (householder) – average number of weeks to decision - Target - 8.9 weeks

What this means
This indicator sets out the average time taken by the Planning service to process the planning applications for householder developments.

Why this matters
This indicator measures the efficiency of the council’s planning application process for minor/householder developments. The Planning service has a statutory two-month period in which to deal with a local planning application.

Our performance and how we compare

How we have performed in improving this public service
The number of weeks to determine householder applications is lower than the figure of 10.3 weeks for 2023/24, and it is also better than the annual target of 8.9 weeks.

Local developments (non-householder) – average number of weeks to decision - Target – 11.5 weeks

What this means
This indicator sets out the average time taken by the Planning service to process the planning applications for local developments (non-householder).

Why this matters
This indicator measures the efficiency of the council’s planning application process.

Our performance and how we compare

How we have performed in improving this public service
The figure for 2024-25 (22.4 weeks) is significantly lower than that for 2023-24 (32.8 weeks). It remains higher than the annual target of 11.5 weeks, however, considerable progress has been made to improve performance. The planning service dealt with 372 applications in the local non-householder category compared to 496 in the previous year.

Business and industry – average number of weeks to decision - Target – 12 weeks

What this means
This indicator sets out the average time taken by the Planning service to process the planning applications for business and industry developments.

Why this matters
An efficient and well-functioning planning service plays an important role in facilitating sustainable economic growth and delivering high-quality development in the right places. 

Our performance and how we compare

How we have performed in improving this public service
The average time per business and industry planning application is considerably less in 2024-25 when compared with 2023-24 and is lower (better) than the Scottish average.

The Service will seek to continue this three-year improvement trend.

Number of breaches of planning legislation identified/resolved - no target set

What this means
The Planning service monitors the number of reports of potential breaches of planning legislation and the number of these cases that are resolved.  Where a breach of planning legislation is identified, the Planning service will attempt to respond to this without having to take formal action - either by having the owner agree to ‘undo’ the work or by asking them to submit a retrospective application for works which can be approved. 

Why this matters
The activity outlined below shows that the Planning service is using its enforcement powers to make sure that everyone stays within planning law and the conditions of their planning permission. 

Our performance and how we compare

How we have performed in improving this public service
The figures show that a significant number of enforcement cases were closed and resolved in this reporting period (92%). This is a proactive service with efficient processes in place, continuing to resolve most cases.

Percentage of building warrant applications receiving initial assessment within 20 working days - Target - 95%

What this means

A building warrant is a legal procedure that must be followed. This is to make sure any that any proposed building work meets current building regulations.

The following results show the percentage of applications assessed for compliance with building warrant regulation requirements within the 20-day target.

Why this matters
When our Building Standards service grants permission for work to be done, it issues a building warrant. This indicator shows how efficiently the Building Standards service administers the building warrant process, with the service aiming to reduce the average time it takes for customers to obtain a building warrant.

Our performance and how we compare

How we have performed in improving this public service
The council target of 95% of first reports for building warrant applications being issued within 20 working days was not met. However, the matters that are hampering performance are being addressed as part of the ongoing service improvement review.

South Lanarkshire Council Local Development Plan

The Local Development Plan (LDP) is a statutory plan which guides the future use of land within the council’s area. The current LDP2 was adopted in April 2021, while the Scottish Government’s national spatial strategy, National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), was adopted in February 2023. Together, they comprise the Development Plan for the area.

Work started on the third version (LDP3) in September 2023. The first stage involves preparing an Evidence Report, which will inform the spatial strategy for South Lanarkshire over the 10 years after it is adopted. This involves firstly the gathering of extensive data and information covering the 33 policy themes contained in NPF4. This in turn will be used to decide on the location of new housing and employment and help to protect the Green Belt, built and natural heritage designations and green spaces. Unlike earlier versions, it will also address the principles of local living so that everyone has appropriate access to local services and facilities and provide the land use planning context in reaction to wider themes around health and wellbeing, sustainable/active travel and tackling the climate and nature emergencies. 

At the same time, extensive engagement is being carried out with our partners, local communities and interest groups to understand their needs and aspirations. This reflects the key role the planning system has in improving our local communities and tackling disadvantage and promoting equality. This has included working in partnership with the council’s community engagement team to help carry out meaningful engagement with local communities. This has already involved carrying out awareness raising with the four Community Planning Partnerships as well as individual community councils and local groups such as Burnhill Action Group, ONE CAN and Lanark Development Trust.

In addition, the Planning Service has engaged closely with representatives many interest groups, including the local Gypsy/Traveller community, local schools, Seniors Together and the Access Panel to better understand what the plan means for them.

We also launched a Let’s Talk Place online survey during 2024, which allows the wider population to give us their thoughts on the area in which they live, work and play and how their lived experience can be improved.  The survey closed in March 2025, and 976 responses were received.

LDP3 will, in essence, be a corporate document that will draw together the council’s aims and objectives and the future strategies of council services and our partners in a spatial context. The preparation of the first stage evidence report has involved extensive collaboration with other council services and key agencies such as SEPA, Scottish Water, Transport Scotland and NatureScot. We have also contributed to other strategies, including the Local Transport Strategy and Local Housing Strategy.

The current Development Plan Scheme Development Plan Scheme and Participation Statement 2025-26 sets out the details of the timescales for preparing LDP3 and a participation statement that explains how we will engage and consult on LDP3.  It is anticipated that the Evidence Report will be submitted to Scottish Ministers for a Gatecheck by the end of 2025, following which preparation of the plan itself will begin. LDP3 will be adopted by the council in mid 2028.

Planning performance statistics

In addition to the above, a range of other performance results in respect of planning applications are reported to the Scottish Government every quarter by our Planning service and can be viewed on the Scottish Government website. 

Resource Plans are prepared each year by all council Resources to outline the key developments they intend to take forward in the year. Performance and actions relating to economic development and regeneration can be found in the Community and Enterprise Resource Plan.

Twice a year, performance reports are presented to Resource committees on progress against the Resource Plans. In addition, reports detailing progress against the Council Plan Connect Outcomes are prepared - see Quarter 2 and Quarter 4 performance reports for further information.

More information on our objectives can be found in the Council Plan Connect and also the Annual Performance Spotlights.

Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) allows councils to work together, to use performance information in a way that will help understand variations, share knowledge, expertise and good practice, with a view to making improvements. For more information and links relating to this framework, go to the 'Benchmarking' paragraph on the Improvement and how we compare page on our website.

The information contained within this report reflects the position based on the data available at the time of publication (March 2026).