Hello and Welcome to the Part3 with me podcast, The show that helps part 3 students jump start into their careers as qualified architects.

I am your host Maria Skoutari and this week following last weeks episode on Planning Permissions, we will be looking into the Planning Appeal process.

So say you submitted your planning application, whatever type of application it may be, what are your options if that permission gets rejected? If the application was rejected before being accepted, you can investigate the reasons as to why and re-submit it. Another scenario might be that the local authority refused the application - under this scenario you should consult the Local Authority to explain the reasons of the refusal, provide you with an opportunity to amend it and resubmit or keep it as it is to be rejected and let the application go to appeal - I am actually going through something similar at the moment with a planning application on a 4 bed development which I will expand on further later in the episode. In any case, if you don’t agree with the Local Authority’s decision on your planning application you can appeal it or if the application wasn’t determined within 8 weeks (for a householder development) or 13 weeks (for a major development) you can also appeal. If you disagree with the decision you must appeal within 6 months of the date of the decision notice. If you didn’t receive a decision within the 8-13 week mark mentioned earlier then you can appeal up to 6 months after the decision was due. You can also appeal against any conditions that were imposed on a planning permission if you don’t agree with them. The decision notice from the Local Planning Authority will include notes and actually confirm your rights of appeal and the time period you must submit the appeal. Planning appeals are generally made to the Secretary of Stage for Communities and Local Government in England, and the process is handed by the Planning Inspectorate, which is the specific body that deals with planning appeals, national infrastructure planning applications, examinations of local plans and other planning-related and specialist casework in England and it is an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Now before you actually submit an appeal you must first determine which is the right procedure for your case. There are three main procedure of Planning Appeals: Written - typically used for local and small scale projects such as house extensions, changes of use, and so on. This is the easiest, quickest and cheapest method where an inspector decides the appeal on the basis of the written presentations provided and by visiting the site. This method is also commonly used by the applicants themselves without professional help. It typically takes the form of a statement of a case by the main parties and should be submitted within strict timeframes stated that will be set out in a letter from the Planning Inspectorate. The assigned planning inspector then considers all the written evidence followed by a site visit and then a written decision is made several weeks after the site visit. The second type is a Hearing - this type of appeal is appropriate where it is considered beneficial to present the case in person to the Planning Inspector and where the appellant wishes to share the costs. It’s a lengthier process and more suited to complicated cases which require a detailed discussion on the appeal issues. In a hearing, the main parties submit written evidence with a similar process and timeframe as the written procedure followed by an informal hearing once all the written information has been received. This usually takes the form of a round table discussion led by the planning inspector. It offers the opportunity for all parties involved to respond to any questions. The hearing will take no longer than a day and concluded with a site visit. A written decision is made several weeks after the hearing. And the third method is through Local Inquiry, also known as Public Inquiry, which is suitable for larger projects that are of public interest. Local Inquiry is a more formal process than an informal hearing and is usually for complex cases where legal issues may need to be considered. If the applicant want to follow the inquiry route they must notify the Local Planning authority and the Planning Inspectorate within 10 working days before submitting the appeal. An the planning inspectorate will inform the applicant if that method is appropriate for the case or not. The main parties will typically be represented by lawyers to present their case and cross-examine any witnesses. All documents related to the case will need to provided to the Planning Inspectorate, that will then be passed on to a designated inspector who will leaf the procedure. An inquiry may take one or several days, or even weeks in some instances depending on the complexity of the case. During the inquiry or at its end the inspector and main parties will visit the site and a written decision will be provided to the parties several weeks after the inquiry. Now moving on to the circumstances for each planning permission, let’s start with how to appeal for a generic planning application. Normally the decision notice from the local planning authority will include the rights of the applicant to appeal and the time period within which it must be submitted. It would be beneficial in this type of appeal to have the assistance of a planning consultant to guide the applicant on the appeal process and issues that may arise. The documents the applicant will need to provide includes the original application, the site ownership certificate, the local planning authority's decision notice or letter of acknowledgement if decision hasn’t been made, all plans-drawings and documents sent to the local planning authority, the appeal, a map of the surrounding area and any other documents that directly support the appeal. The planning appeal has to then be received within 6 months of the date of the decision by the Planning Inspectorate. This type of appeal can be dealt with by either three of the methods mentioned earlier but the most typical method used is the written representation. Other parties will have an opportunity to make written comments on the appeal (e.g. neighbours or local amenity groups) and if the appeal does happen to be heard on an informal hearing or inquiry there will also be discussion between the parties. A final decision will then be made in writing to the applicant following a planning inspectors visit to the site. If again they don’t agree with the decision they can challenge it in the High Court but they should seek legal advice to proceed with this as a worst case scenario. The next type of appeal is for a householder planning decision. For this type of application you should appeal through a householder planning appeal within 12 weeks of the date of the decision and make your appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. Under the householder planning appeal, the applicant will typically use the written method where you send a copy of the appeal and all supporting documents which includes the original application, site ownership certificate, and local planning authority's decision notice and any other documents you feel appropriate to support your appeal made through the Planning Inspectorate. After the submission the Planning Inspectorate will check the appeal to make sure its valid and they will send a Planning Inspector to visit the site to assess the proposal and final decision, and they will inform the applicant of the next steps. And similarly to the planning appeal other parties will have an opportunity to make written comments on the appeal. And you can challenge it further again if you don’t agree to the High Court. The next type of appeal can be made on an enforcement notice that the local planning authority has sent the applicant if they’ve built or changed something without planning permission. The applicant can appeal against this notice if they own, rent to lawfully occupy the property or land it applies to. The appeal must be sent before the notice takes effect (which is usually about 28 days) and again is made through the Planning Inspectorate. For the enforcement appeal the applicant will need to submit a copy of the enforcement notice, a plan if possible, any other documents that directly support the appeal such as the ground for appeal and the appeal itself. And again the Planning Inspectorate will check the appeal and validate it and inform the applicant of the start date, next steps and length of the appeal. Many enforcement notice appeals are by means of an Inquiry because there may be complex issues to discuss or consider. The applicant may follow a written method route but the Planning Inspectorate will have the final decision on the most appropriate method to handle the appeal. For this type of appeal it may be best to appoint a professional planning agent to assist with the appeal process when it comes to procedures, technical and legal issues that may come up. And following a planning inspectors visit to the site a final decision will be made in writing to the applicant. And you can challenge it further again if you don’t agree to the High Court. For listed buildings the applicant again has the right to appeal and the process is very similar to the planning application appeal process since it will often be combined with the associated planning application and the applicant can also appeal if there are conditions on the consent they deem unreasonable. The applicant in this instance should make sure they complete and submit both appeal forms on the same day for both the listed building and planning consents to assist the Planning Inspectorate in combining the two appeals. For the listed building consent appeal the applicant should submit a copy of the listed building consent application form and all documents that accompanied the application, a copy of the ownership certificate, site plans, any correspondence with the local planning authority, and any other supporting documents. And similarly to the planning appeal, the Planning Inspectorate will check and validate the appeal and from then on the process is the same as the planning appeal process. Next, we have the lawful development certificate appeal process whereby the applicant has been refused a lawful development certificate by the local planning authority and the applicant wishes to appeal the decision. In such a case the Planning Inspectorate will not be considering the planning merits of the proposal but will evaluate whether the evidence provided was sufficient enough to prove that a development is lawful or not. The applicant will need to submit to the Planning Inspectorate the original application, the local planning authority's decision notice or letter of acknowledgement if a decision hasn’t been made, all plans, drawings and documents sent to the local planning authority, any letters or emails between the applicant and the local planning authority, the appeal, a map of the site and any other documents to support the appeal. If the applicant deems that their land or building is now lawful because the time limit of enforcement has passed then they will also need to submit evidence of dated photographs of the site, letters from neighbours, receipts or invoices of the work, and plans and drawings. Similarly to the other appeal processes, the Planning Inspectorate will then review the information to validate it and will forward further instruct on the decision date and next steps. An applicant can also appeal against tree preservation orders, where the local planning authority has refused consent for the the works to a protected tree and the applicant can also appeal against any condition attached to a consent for tree works, or the failure of the local planning authority to notify the applicant of the decision within 8 weeks of receipt of any application in relation to a protected tree. Key thing to note here is that you can’t appeal in objection to a tree preservation order. The applicant will have 28 days from the date of the decision notice to appeal or before the date the tree replacement notice comes into effect, then the will need to fill in an appeal form alongside a copy of the council’s decision or notice and any other document supporting the appeal, like the other types this information needs to submitted to the Planning Inspectorate who will check and validate the appeal and they will make a decision based on the information provided, a site visit and the councils documents. The applicant should receive a decision within 27 weeks. There are a number of other appeal types applicants can appeal against including appeal against access and rights of way, highways and transport, Section 106BC or 106B appeals, Community Infrastructure Levy, Purchase notices and cross rail to name a few. So key things to remember from this is the three methods of appeal, written, informal hearing and public enquiry. An applicant has a right to appeal, but should consider their decision wisely before proceeding, against any decision on a planning application, conditions or lack of a decision of an application if they don’t agree with the decision as long as they have sufficient evidence to prove their case and it is done in a timely manner to make sure the appeal goes through and then they wait for a decision from the Planning Inspector after all the evidence has been review under the equivalent appeal method and then if they don’t agree with that decision they can still move the case further to the High Court.