Changes to the Planning Appeal Process
20th Jul 2009
Many people will be aware that refusal of a planning application by their local council is not necessarily the end of the matter and that it is possible to appeal against refusal to the Planning Inspectorate.
There have, however, been significant recent planning appeal reforms, which came into force earlier this year.
Under the new reforms, the Planning Inspectorate intends to streamline the householder appeals process for those cases dealt with by written representations.
The changes are, however, in the early stages of implementation and it is yet to be determined whether the new process will be more efficient than its predecessor.
Householder appeals are often lodged for works or an extension to a dwelling house.
The main changes to householder appeals include reducing the time period in which an appeal can be lodged following the refusal of an application from six months to 12 weeks.
The submission of information for a householder appeal will now consist of the Householder Appeals Service (HAS) appeal form, which includes the grounds of appeal; a copy of the original planning application; and a copy of the decision notice.
The appellant is to provide their full statement of case when submitting the appeal forms but they may submit no further information to the Planning Inspectorate.
The local authority no longer provides any formal appeal statement to the Planning Inspectorate and only has the decision notice and information used in the determination of the planning application, for example, the case officer’s report or committee report, to support their defence.
Whilst the appellant and the local planning authority have the opportunity to specify their preferred method of appeal (either by written representation, an informal hearing or a public inquiry), the Planning Inspectorate will now have the power to determine which method will be used.
The majority of householder appeals are dealt with by written representation and, in this instance, the timetable for determination will now be shortened from approximately 14 weeks to 8 weeks.
A revision to the consultation process also means that third parties, for example neighbours, no longer have the right to lodge their comments at the appeal stage. Only comments lodged during the planning application stage are considered at appeal.
It is the intention that appeals dealt with by the hearing or inquiry route will also have a reduced processing time under the new appeal reforms.
* Louise Oakley is a planning consultant with BHP Develop. She can be contacted on 0191-221 0898.
Author: Louise Oakley, Planning Consultant (LouiseO@bhplaw.co.uk)
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