A planning refusal or enforcement notice is not the end of the road. You can appeal a planning decision if:

• you were refused planning permission for reasons that you think go against the LPA’s development plan or planning policy (you can usually find these on their website)
• you were granted planning permission with conditions you object to – you’ll need to explain why you think they’re unnecessary, unenforceable, vague, unreasonable or irrelevant
• the LPA has not given you a decision on your application and 8 weeks have passed since the date they told you they’d received it (or a different deadline you agreed with them has passed)

Please speak to us about Enforcement Notices and how we can help you to over-turn them today. 

Planning appeals are handled using written representations, hearings and inquiries. An Inspector decides the appeal based on written representations and a site visit. The Planning Inspector also considers written responses from any opposing parties, prior to making a decision. 

Hearings and inquiries are more complex and follow different steps. Please contact us for a full overview of the steps involved with these procedures. 

Householder planning appeals have to be received by the Planning Inspectorate within 12 weeks of the decision date, with non-householder appeals having a 6 month timeframe.

All appeals are different, and the Planning Inspectorate can occasionally be operating on a backlog. But these are the average appeal timeframes that the Planning Inspectorate provided for 2024:

• 17 weeks for Householder Appeals
• 29 weeks for Written Representations
• 22 weeks for hearings
• 28 weeks for Inquiries

Please note that these timeframes are meant as guides only, and dependent on the Planning Inspectorate being up to date. 

You’ll have less time to appeal if you’ve received an enforcement notice in the last 2 years. Please speak to us about appealing your enforcement notice. 

We will guide you through the whole appeal process to make it as quick and seamless as possible, no matter the complexity of your case. 

There are 3 procedures for handling appeals: written representations, hearings and inquiries.

The majority of planning appeals follow the written representation procedure.  In this case, the Planning Inspector will decide on the appeal based on written material provided by all parties. The Inspector will usually visit the appeal site although in some cases the visit may be undertaken by a representative of the Inspector. This is normally the simplest, quickest and most straightforward way of making an appeal.

However, sometimes a hearing or inquiry is necessary. The hearing is a structured discussion led by the Inspector. The Inspector identifies the issues for discussion based on the evidence received and any representations made. It may include a discussion at the site, or the site may be visited separately. 

An inquiry is the most formal procedure, that seems quite similar to a court of law. It is open to the public, and we recommend that you are formally represented. 

We will advise you on the best appeal procedure for you to follow, and can guide you through and represent you at any of these stages.

Sometimes it is worth doing a re-application instead of an appeal, especially if your application was refused because of missing documents or small errors. We can help to quickly analyse and revise your initial application and submit a fresh one. 

However, we would advise an appeal if:

• you believe that the initial decision was flawed or based on incorrect information
• You believe that there was a significant misinterpretation of, or oversight with, your application
• There are legal grounds for an appeal in your area

Just give us a call and we can give you free, honest advice on whether a re-application or planning appeal is the best route forward for you.