Appeals

An applicant can bring an appeal if his application is refused by the local planning authority (LPA). But the reverse is not the case: an objector cannot appeal when an application is granted. (The objector’s recourse is Judicial Review, a legal route based on the LPA’s departure from due process.)

If your application is refused, you have only a short time – usually 28 days – in which to lodge your appeal. Note: this period begins from the date on the LPA’s Decision Letter, not the date you receive it.

An appeal ought to be considered in two situations: first, where there was no evidence to support a particular finding of fact on which the LPA’s decision was based; second, where the LPA’s decision was one which no reasonable LPA could reach. Sometimes, of course, both errors are present.

An example of the first kind would be a finding that the applicant’s proposal is a threat to an endangered species of newt, despite there being no evidence to suggest this.

An example of the second kind would be a finding that the applicant’s proposed new access to the public highway is dangerous despite the reports concluding that it was safe.

Be aware that: an appeal is not a re-hearing: no new evidence is allowed. Instead, the appeal is a test by an outsider of the thought processes of the LPA: was their view ‘rational’? In other words: even though we may not have reached the same decision, could a reasonable planning office, on the evidence it had, have reached the decision it did? If the answer is yes, then the decision stands and the appeal fails. The Inspectorate may not agree with the original decision, but it will not substitute its own view for that of the LPA.

What are the advantages of an appeal? Even though not all appeals succeed (60% fail), the appeal buys time: the status quo at the time of the appeal will stay in place until the appeal is heard.

The disadvantages are financial. There are three sets of costs:

(1) the appeal fee that must be paid to the Inspectorate;

(2) the legal costs of drafting the appeal, grounds, bundle and skeleton argument;

(3) the LPA’s costs, which the applicant may be ordered to pay if unsuccessful.