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HOME PAGE | CONTENTS | APPEALS
CONDUCTING APPEALS
Before
proceeding with your planning appeal, please refer to the checklist to ensure
that you have considered all the options available to you.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Government
Guidance on the conduct of planning appeals is contained in "Circular
05/00: Planning Appeals: Procedures (including Inquiries into Called-In
Planning Applications", which consolidates previous Guidance for
The
Guidance makes it clear that "before a disappointed applicant for
planning permission lodges an Appeal, there should be consultation and
negotiation. This may enable the applicant to submit a revised proposal rather
than resort to an Appeal. Difficulties can be more quickly and cheaply resolved
in this way than if an Appeal is made to the Secretary of State. Appeals should
only be made when all else has failed."
"Potential
appellants should be aware that it is for the Inspector or the Secretary of
State to review the planning arguments and to reach a decision in accordance
with planning policy and the merits of the proposal. They should carefully
assess the merits of their case and the prospects of success objectively,
together with the costs they are likely to incur, and the time needed to pursue
an Appeal. Careful study of the policy background, principally in development
plans, planning policy guidance notes and departmental circulars is essential.
Clearly stated policies endorsed through the development plan system and which
remain relevant to the case will not be set aside lightly."
It
is clear, therefore, that the Appeal process is an option of last resort and
you should be certain in your decision to proceed, having considered all
available options.
PLANNING APPEALS
GENERAL INFORMATION
It is strongly recommended
that before you submit any Appeal that you do take professional advice, both in
order to ensure that your Appeal is correctly constructed, but also to avoid
the potential risk of costs.
Appeals must be submitted to
the Planning Inspectorate within 6 months of the date of the Council’s Decision
Notice, or alternatively within 6 months of the date on which the Council
should have given their decision, subject to any agreed extension of time.
The Appeal form must be completed
fully including all relevant grounds of appeal and should be accompanied by
copies of all the following documents:-
Ř The Planning Application Form
Ř Certificates, Notices and Plans
Ř Relevant correspondence
Ř The Decision Notice
Where
planning permission has been refused, the grounds of appeal should explain why
the Appellant disagrees with each of the Local Authority’s reasons for refusal.
It is not merely sufficient to disagree with the Council’s reasoning; you must
indicate why you think they are wrong.
A
checklist for appellants as well as guidance on Appeals is provided in the
Planning Inspectorate’s booklet "A Guide to Planning Appeals" which
is available from the Planning
Inspectorate.
Once
completed, you must send the Appeal form and accompanying documents to the
Planning Inspectorate with a copy of the Appeal form and relevant documents direct
to the Local Planning Authority. It is important that this is done because any
failure to submit an Appeal form on both the Planning Inspectorate and the
Local Planning Authority may not be accepted as being validly made.
METHODS OF APPEAL
There
are three means by which your Appeal can be dealt with. These are as follows:-
1 Written Representations
2 Hearings
3 Public Inquiries
The
majority of Appeals are handled by way of Written Representations although you
are fully entitled to request a Hearing or Public Inquiry. However, you should
be careful in the procedure you choose in order to avoid the possibility of
incurring either the Council or others in unnecessary additional expenditure
which may attract an application for costs.
A
Public Inquiry into a simple refusal may be appropriate in some circumstances,
but Public Inquiries should not be selected without considerable forethought.
If you feel that there is still a need to debate the matter before the
Inspector rather than in writing, a Hearing may be a useful alternative.
WRITTEN
REPRESENTATIONS
The
Guidance notes that this is by far the most common procedure and normally
offers the quickest, simplest and cheapest way of deciding Appeals.
On average, Hearing Appeals tend to take half as long again and Inquiry Appeals
twice as long as Written Representation Appeals.
A
Written Representations Appeal is essentially an exchange of evidence in
writing, which the Inspector then receives and considers prior to making his
formal determination. A site inspection will take place once both you and the
Local Authority have considered each other’s evidence and the Inspector’s
decision letter will follow shortly thereafter.
HEARINGS
A
Hearing Appeal enables both parties to present their case fully and fairly in a
less formal atmosphere than a Public Inquiry and usually takes the form of a
round table discussion led by the Inspector.
There
is no formal cross-examination or advocacy, so individuals may feel more inclined
to represent themselves rather than take on professional advisors.
Although
you may request a Hearing Appeal, this may be considered unacceptable if the
nature of the Appeal is likely to attract wider public interest or where formal
cross-examination is required.
PUBLIC
INQUIRY
Both
the Appellant and the Local Authority may exercise their right to be heard at a
Local Inquiry. Although you may have sought an Appeal by Written
Representations or Hearing Appeal, the Local Authority do have the right to
require a Public Inquiry, although this should not be requested frivolously on
their part (see costs).
Click below on the
relevant Link for the method of Appeal you wish to use.