Scottish Borders Council (SBC) is performing above average when it comes to deciding planning applications, according to a new report.

The local authority's Planning Service has revealed further improvements on decision making, with the average time falling again this year compared to previous years.

In 2015/16, major applications decision times stood at 27.6 weeks, while in 2014/15 the figure was at 30.9 weeks.

Local non-householder development times were reduced by over five weeks to 17.4 weeks, while householder developments saw reductions decline from 7.7 weeks to 6.7 weeks in 2015/16.

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Overall, the council is performing better than the Scottish national average for:

• Major developments

• Householder developments

• Major housing applications

• Local business and industry applications

• All other consents

Cllr Ron Smith said: "Every year we continue to see improvements in the Planning Service and I commend the staff for their ongoing efforts to reduce the time it takes for applicants to get a decision. This is largely down to the groundwork that officers put in with developers and applicants prior to the submission of plans.

"It has taken a great deal of work to get to this position and further improvements are planned, as well as a review of the service as a whole to see where delivery can continue to be enhanced."

(LM/CD)