Appeals

Appeals are made to The Planning Inspectorate, an executive agency of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, who are based in Bristol. Appeals can be made against the following:

• refusal of permission
• grant of planning permission subject to conditions which you consider to be unreasonable
• the failure of the Council to determine your application within the statutory 8 week period (unless you have agreed to an extension of time)
• the issue of an Enforcement Notice

Subject to Parliamentary approval a change will come into effect on 14 January. The changes to the appeal period will affect (a) local planning authority decisions made on or after 14 January and (b) decisions in the pipeline on 14 January - i.e. where the current appeal period of 3 months has not elapsed. This means that the six month period to appeal will apply to all decisions made by the local planning authorities on or after 14 October 2004. It will not apply to decisions where, on 14 January, the appeal period had already elapsed.

An appeal must be made within 6 months of the date of the Council's decision (provided the decision date is on or after 14 January 2005). All appeals will be adjudged to be out of time if 6 months from the date of the Council's decision has elapsed, unless the appeal is against an Enforcement Notice. In this case the appeal must be received by the Planning Inspectorate before the date the Enforcement Notice comes into effect. There is normally a fee payable with an appeal against an Enforcement Notice. The Council encourages anyone who may be contemplating an appeal to discuss the matter with the Planning Officer first to see if the Council's objection can be overcome by amendment of the scheme.

There are three types of appeals:

• Written Representations - this is the most common procedure and normally offers the quickest, simplest and cheapest way of deciding appeals
• Informal Hearing - this procedure usually takes the form of a round-the-table discussion
• Local Public Inquiry - this procedure is used where formal cross-examination is necessary or where there are a substantial number of third parties wishing to speak. However this procedure proves costly as a Solicitor and/or Barrister is normally employed (by both parties).

Costs can be awarded against either the appellant or the Council if one of the parties claim it has been caused unnecessary expense in dealing with the proceedings because of the other party's unreasonable behaviour. Costs can only be awarded if the Informal Hearing or Local Public Inquiry procedure is used.

The Planning Inspector's decision is final and can only be challenged in the High Court on a point of Law.

For further information on the appeals process and to download the appeal form please visit the Planning Inspectorate's web site.

The Planning Portal

The Planning Portal website is the UK Government's online Planning and Building Regulations resource for England and Wales and can be accessed in order to learn about Planning and Building Regulations, apply for Planning Permission, find out about development near you, appeal against a decision and research government policy.

The following is a small example of functions available via the Planning Portal website:

• Submit an appeal against decision issued by Herefordshire Council with regard to a Planning Application or an Enforcement Notice
• View the appeals guidance page, for use by members of the general public
• View the appeals guidance page, for use by Planning professionals (such as Agents and Architects)
• Search for details on current and decided appeals, including their supporting documentation, correspondence and Statements of Case or Proofs of Evidence from both the Council and the Appellant, or a copy of the Inspectors decision (if issued) on the appeal