Planning Appeals
The determining body, be it the District, Borough or County Council, have the discretion to approve or refuse a planning application. When an application is refused (or an Enforcement Notice is served for alleged unlawful development), you have the right to appeal to the Secretary of State. Appeals are generally decided by the Governments Planning Inspectorate body.
The circumstances in which you can make an appeal are:-
- If you made the original planning application, or if you are acting as Executor for another person who made it.
- If an Enforcement Notice has been served on you, or you have a legal interest in the land when the appeal is made; or if you are a relevant occupier in occupation of the land both when the notice was served and when the appeal was made.
- If a Discontinuance Notice has been served on you.
It should be noted that in England and Wales there is currently no third party right of appeal.
There are three main routes of planning appeal:-
- Written Representation
- Informal Hearing
- Public Inquiry
The time limit for making your appeal depends on the type of appeal you are making:
For a householder planning application you have 12 weeks from the date on the decision notice;
For most other types of planning application the time period is 6 months from the date on the decision notice, or 6 months from the expiry of the period during which the Local Planning Authority had to determine the application.
Time limits will vary for other types of application and we would be able to advise you accordingly.
We provide advice as to which route is best suited to your circumstances and prepare the appropriate documentation. Additional input from specialists may be required for certain appeals, and we have an array of professional consultants/ lawyers that can be brought in where necessary.