Planning permission appeals

Appeals are made to The Planning Inspectorate, an executive agency of the Secretary of  State for Communities and Local Government, 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

With effect from the 6th April 2009, there will be two timescales within which an appeal must be made.

With regard to appeals against the refusal of planning permission for householder development (ie. house extension and small scale developments within the gardens of dwellings), the new process will require appeals to be lodged within 12 weeks of the date of the decision.  The Householder Appeals Service has been set up to speed up the process of dealing with smaller scale development being dealt with under the written representations procedure.

All other appeals, with the exception of an appeal against an Enforcement Notice, must be made within 6 months of the date of the Council's decision.  In the case of an appeal against an Enforcement Notice this must be received by the Planning Inspectorate before the date of the Enforcement Notice comes into effect. The Council encourages anyone who may be contemplating an appeal to discuss the matter with the relevant Case Officer to see if the Council's reasons for refusal  can be overcome by amendments to the scheme.

There are three types of appeals and the Planning Inspectorate will determine the appeal procedure to be followed for all Planning and Enforcement cases

These are the three types of appeals:

• Written Representations  (including the new Householder Appeals Service) - 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 be awarded in respect of all three types of appeals under the new procedures.

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