Planning and Enforcement Appeals

If you are refused permission, disagree with any conditions attached to an approval, or wish to appeal against the Council's failure to reach a decision on your application, you may appeal to the Secretary of State through the Planning inspectorate. Enforcement Appeals are also handled by the Planning inspectorate.

The appeal system gives disappointed applicants the chance to have their proposals looked at again by someone independent. It is best to think of an appeal as a last resort. It takes time to deal with appeals so it is worth discussing the problems with the relevant case officer. The Council will endeavour to find a compromise or suggest a suitable alternative where possible.

The Council will notify all those who commented on the initial proposal and all other interested parties as and when an appeal is lodged, and such notification will contain details of the procedure. Part of the procedure is that where further representations are allowed, these must always be made to the Planning inspectorate.

The inspector will consider your proposal from scratch, and look at the same matters as the Council, including local planning policy and all other relevant matters. It is an inspector's job to ensure that all the relevant matters have been properly taken into account.

A full list of procedural guides is available at the Planning Portal.

Common Types of Appeal

• Against the refusal of permission - this is the most common type of appeal. The applicant is the only person who holds the right to appeal the Council's decision, and the challenge is often on the grounds that planning permission should have been granted.
• Against one or more conditions attached to an approval - this is where the applicant feels one or more of the conditions to further control the development granted are unnecessary, unreasonable, imprecise, irrelevant or unenforceable.
• Against the serving of an Enforcement Notice relating to unauthorised development - this can occur following the refusal of planning permission, or even in conjunction with a current application. Anyone with an interest in the land upon which the notice is served can appeal the Notice.
• Against non-determination - this is where the Council fails to issue a decision within 8 weeks (or 13 weeks for larger scale development) of it being validated, or whatever longer period has been agreed by the applicant with the Council in writing. But as it takes further time and resources to deal with such an appeal, you are advised to contact the case officer first to see what is delaying the decision, and when it is likely to be reached.

Making an Appeal

Copies of the Appeal Forms and detailed information about planning appeals can be found at the Planning inspectorate website.

You must send your appeal to the Planning inspectorate to arrive within 6 months of the date of the notice giving you the Councils decision. If there was no decision you must send your appeal to arrive within 6 months of the end of the period when the decision should have been sent. In the case of householder applications, this time limit is reduced to 12 weeks, and in the case of advertisements, this time limit is reduced to 8 weeks. A summary of these timescales can be viewed here. If your appeal is late the inspectorate will almost certainly refuse to accept it.

Different Appeal Procedures

An appeal can be decided in a number of ways.

• Written Representations - this is the most common procedure, where original documentation and plans, statements from the appellant, the Council and any third parties will be considered by the inspectorate. The site will also be visited by an inspector as part of this process.
• Informal Hearing - this is where the Council and appellant will meet with an inspector to assist their understanding of the case. It usually involves an open discussion led by the inspector following written submissions. Interested parties may speak at an Informal Hearing. The site will also be visited by an inspector as part of this process.
• Public Inquiry - this involves legal procedural rules, but the appellant has the right to speak directly to the inspector and challenge the evidence put forward by the Council. Interested parties may speak at a Public Inquiry. The site will also be visited by an inspector as part of this process.

In all cases, the Council or the appellant the appeal may apply for costs against one of the other parties. They would have to show that they incurred unnecessary costs as a result of this unreasonable behaviour. However, an award of appeal costs is not made on the basis of who wins the appeal.

The arrangements for awarding costs are explained in detail in Circular 3/09 Awards of Costs in Planning and Other Proceedings.

Commenting on an Appeal

If you made representations at the application stage, or have an interest in an enforcement matter, it is likely the Council will consult you if and when an appeal is lodged. You are then able to make further representations. Anyone can make a representation, even if you did not comment previously. Furthermore, you can view (at the Council Offices) the Grounds of Appeal statement put forward by the appellant.

Please note: ALL representations made at the Appeal stage must be sent directly to the Planning inspectorate and not to the Council.

Guidance on taking part in appeals can be viewed on the Appeal pages of the Planning Portal.