Planning Appeal Consultants

The appeal process, when conducted by a planning consultant, generally begins with an application review and audit. The decision notice will be thoroughly analysed, in order to establish initial weak points within the refusal. When combined with a more thorough highlighting the application’s strengths, this should increase the chances of a successful application.

Planning consultants may also provide a supporting planning statement, which addresses key issues, and sets out planning grounds in favour of the application.

Following this, a proposal indicating the likelihood of a successful reapplication will be proposed, and listed alongside cost.  These steps may be undertaken by an individual, but are generally much more effective with professional input.

Planning appeal hearings are arranged by the Local Planning Authority (LPA) who is responsible for arranging venues. Hearings are usually held in LPA offices, village halls, or community centres, but during the pandemic, they have taken place online. Hearings are formatted as a round-the-table discussion led by the planning inspector.

The planning appeal process is intended to be an informal process and allows for all parties to respond to any questions that the inspector might have, and to let everyone make their case known. Third parties, such as local residents, councillors, and amenity groups may also attend and take part in the discussion. The majority of hearings will take no longer than a day and usually conclude with a site visit.

Normally submitting a planning appeal happens by post or online. During the pandemic, the planning appeals could only be done online using the government website. The online appeals go to the Planning Inspectorate. If you want to appeal more than one decision you must make a separate appeal for each.

After appealing online, you will need to send a copy of your appeal with all the supporting documents to your local planning authority. You will receive further instructions from the Planning Inspectorate.

You’ll need to submit copies of:

• Your original application.
• The site ownership certificate.
• The local planning authority’s decision notice – if they did not make a decision, submit a copy of the letter acknowledging your application.
• All plans, drawings, and documents you sent to the local planning authority.

You’ll also need to submit:

• A map of the surrounding area
• Any other documents that directly support your appeal, for example, your full statement of the case

You can upload these documents when you appeal.

In the unfortunate event of your planning permission being refused, you may be able to submit another application with modified plans free of charge, as long as it’s 12 months of the decision of your original application. If you believe the authority’s decision was unreasonable you may want to appeal.

Appeals are intended as a last resort, and they take several months to decide. It may be quicker to discuss with the authority whether changes to your proposal would make it more acceptable or, in cases of non-determination, when your application might be decided if you choose not to appeal.

The deadline for submitting an appeal is six months from the date of the application decision letter or in the case of non-determination, six months from the date the decision should have been made.

Refused applications can be appealed within 6 months of the decision, or 3 months for householder appeals. Appealing is a complicated process taking several months, which is why appealing repeatedly is never advisable. Reapplying with amended plans that factor in planning officer feedback is an easier route to getting planning permission.

Oftentimes, developers find themselves applying over and over again and amending the plans according to the feedback received each time to eventually find themselves getting an acceptance from their local planning authority (LPA). However, if this approach doesn’t work and/or if you feel the refusal is unreasonable – or if the LPA has taken longer than the required 8 or 13 weeks to issue the decision (unless a longer time frame has been previously agreed) – then you can appeal to the Secretary of State.

Yes, planning consultants can assist with appealing planning submission refusals. They can also make moderations to your existing proposals in order to bring them closer to the guidelines and regulations that need to be met. We can diligently complete all of the amendments within the six month deadline that will be set in stone after receipt of the letter confirming the proposal has been denied.