Planning appeals

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This page contains information about the appeal process, our most popular questions, the "register" of appeals and some useful links if you need more in-depth information.

Appeals - the basics

Each year 100-150 of our applicants lodge an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate. Anyone who has submitted a Planning Application, has the right to appeal to the Secretary of State, via the Planning Inspectorate. You can appeal if your application if;

We have not made a decision within a set time period, usually 8 weeks; or
We refuse your application; or
We have granted permission subject to conditions, with which you feel are unreasonable. or,
We have served you with an Enforcement Notice, which you do not agree with.

There is no right of appeal for people or organisations that feel aggrieved by a planning decision, only the applicant or their agent can lodge an appeal.

Our most popular questions...

Q: When can I lodge an appeal?

Most appeals relating to planning applications must be made to the Planning Inspectorate within 6 months of the date of the decision. For householder applications, the period for submitting an appeal is 12 weeks from the date of decision. In the case of advertisement applications, appeals must be made within 8 weeks. In the case of enforcement notices, appeals must be made before the date the Enforcement Notice takes effect.

Q: How long does an appeal take?

Most householder appeals take less than 8 weeks to decide. Appeals for Householder applications made after 6 April 2009 will be decided within 8 weeks of the start date. However, appeals involving Hearings, Inquiries or Enforcement cases always take longer.

Q: How much does it cost?

Except in certain types of enforcement appeals, no charge is made by either us or the Planning Inspectorate to lodge an appeal. The only costs you may incur will be if you have used an agent, consultant or solicitor to prepare your case.

Q: What are my chances for success?

Roughly 2/3rds of appeals lodged against our planning decisions are dismissed, in other words the Inspector agrees with our original decision. This puts us in line with the national average.

Q: What types of appeals are there?

There are three types of appeals: Written Representations, Informal Hearing or Public Inquiry.

Written Representations – Both sides make their case in writing followed by a site visit; this type is the fastest and most popular choice. All household appeals are dealt with in this way.
Informal Hearing – Both sides meet the Inspector and make their case in person, a joint site visit is undertaken. This type of appeal will take considerably longer than above, up to 9-12 months.
Public Inquiry – This appeal format is usually reserved for the largest and most complicated applications.

Q: What are the alternatives to appealing?

Negotiation. Appeals can take several months to decide, whereas we (in 85% of cases) reach a decision in 6-8 weeks. Furthermore, in most cases your resubmitted planning application is a "free go", and it may be quicker to change some of the elements to the proposal than lodge an appeal. Of course, there is nothing stopping you from doing both. In the case of a refused permission, read your decision notice, this should contain more information on what exactly was considered unacceptable and could form a helpful starting point for a new proposal.

Lodging an appeal

The quickest way to lodge an appeal is online, via the Planning Portal;

www.planningportal.gov.uk/pcs

Alternatively contact the Planning Inspectorate on 0117 372 6372 who can post you a paper form to complete. Please note this option will take longer to process.