If a planning application is refused or if it isn't decided on within a set period, then the applicant can appeal against the decision to the Planning Inspectorate. You can also appeal against a condition that may have been imposed by the local planning authority or if you have been served with an Enforcement Notice.

Only the person making the application can appeal - there is no right of appeal for interested people or organisations (known as ‘third parties’) in England and Wales.

In essence, you are appealing to central government against a decision made by local government.

Appeals are considered by a planning inspector, appointed by the Secretary of State in England or, in Wales, by the National Assembly. The Planning Inspectorate administers these appeals. Inspectors decide most appeals, but in cases where they make a report to the Secretary of State or the National Assembly for Wales the appeal is decided by the Secretary of State or the National Assembly.

Most are handled in writing. Some are decided by a hearing before an Inspector. A few are decided after a public inquiry.
The deadline for submitting an appeal is 6 months from the date of the application decision letter (or in the case of non-determination, 6 months from the date the decision should have been made).

Please refer to Page 2 for the Appeal Process.

The following is a general summary of the planning appeal process. We do not intend to cover every detail as it can be complex and clearly will relate to the specific case.

In most instances we would recommend that a specialist consultant is employed to deal with the appeal process for you. They will charge a fee for their services but they will have the experience and knowledge required to give you the best chance of overturning the local planning authority's decision.

The appeal is made to the Secretary of State in England or, for applications relating to land or property in Wales, to the National Assembly for Wales. The Planning Inspectorate administers these appeals and there are slightly different requirements for planning appeals and enforcement appeals.

The appeal can be made on line and existing appeals can also be viewed on line at the www.planningportal.gov.uk website.

Once your appeal has been submitted, it will be checked to make sure that everything is in order. The Case Officer dealing with your appeal will let you know what else you need to do during the course of your appeal, and when you need to do it.

During the process of the appeal, the local council will be entitled to justify their reasons for their decision (or non-decision!) and you will be allowed to state why you felt their decision should be overturned. You can both comement on each others appeal statements and third parties can comment on the appeal.

Your statement should cover all the points that you consider relevant, but you should try to keep it as short as possible.
Once all the evidence has been received, the Inspector will consider all the evidence and your case will be considered on its merits, particularly in relation to the development plan and local and national policy.

Where the Inspector is deciding the case, the Case Officer will send the decision to you. Where the Inspector is not making the decision, the report will be sent to the officials acting for the Secretary of State or National Assembly, and they will let you know the decision.

There are strict timeframes associated with planning appeals and more information on this can be found on the planning portal website.