Planning Appeals

If you seek consent or permission to carry out particular works to your property (such as building an extension) and your application:

isn't decided within a set period, or
the local authority refuses your application or grants it on conditions you disagree with

You usually have a right of appeal. The appeal will be made to the First Secretary of State in England. The Planning Inspectorate administers these appeals.

Details of recent appeals appear on our local planning portal, they can be found in the application/ appeal search section.

Only the applicant for consent or permission can make an appeal. There is no right of appeal for interested people or organisations (known as ‘third parties’) in England and Wales.

You can also appeal if the local planning authority has served you with an Enforcement Notice.

There are strict time limits on the right to appeal. The current deadline for submitting an appeal is 6 months from the date of the application decision letter (or in the case of non-determination, 6 months from the date the decision should have been made) with the exception of Householder Applications.

Householder Applications

In the event of a refusal of planning permission for a householder application, applicants have the right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. All householder applications received on or after 6th April 2009 that go forward to appeal will be dealt with by The Householder Appeals Service. The time limit for an applicant to submit a householder appeal is 12 weeks from the date of the decision notice.

Guidance on the appeal process can be found accompanying the decision notice, or further information on appeals is available from the Planning Inspectorate website or through the appeals section of the Planning Portal www.planningportal.gov.uk

Inspectors decide most appeals, but in some cases the appeal is decided by the Secretary of State. Once your appeal has been submitted, it will be checked to make sure that everything is in order. The Case Officer dealing with your appeal will let you know what else you need to do during the course of your appeal, and when you need to do it. After all the documentation has been gathered together, the Inspector will consider all the evidence in the light of:

the development plan
national policies and guidance
your statement of case,
the local authority’s statement of case,
comments you make on their statement and vice versa
comments submitted by anyone else.

Your statement should cover all the points that you consider relevant, but you should try to keep it as short as possible. The Inspector appointed to deal with your appeal has access to all national planning policy and if you want to refer to it, you need only quote the particular paragraphs of the relevant documents.

Where the Inspector is deciding the case, the Case Officer will send the decision to you. Where the Inspector is not making the decision, the report will be sent to the officials acting for the Secretary of State and they will let you know the decision.

More information on appeals can be found at the National Planning Portal.

Guidance Notes

Guide to taking part in planning appeals proceeding by written representations – England

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/pins/taking-part_planning-written.pdf

Guide to taking part in planning appeals proceeding by a hearing – England

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/pins/taking-part_planning-hearing.pdf

Guide to taking part in planning appeals proceeding by an inquiry– England

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/pins/taking-part_planning-inquiry.pdf

For enforcement appeals:-

Guide to taking part in enforcement appeals proceeding by written representations – England

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/pins/taking-part_enforcement-written.pdf

Guide to taking part in enforcement appeals proceeding by a hearing– England