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Commenting on appeals
There is no third party right of appeal in England and Wales. However, anyone who lives near the appeal site or has an interest in the appeal can make a comment on the process
Who to contact should you wish to comment
Appeals are handled by the Planning Inspectorate not the local authority. If you wish to comment on an appeal you will need to make your views known to the Planning Inspectorate.
The way you make your views known on a planning appeal will depend on the way in which the appeal is being handled by the Planning Inspectorate:
- written procedure
- hearing procedure
- inquiry procedure
If the appeal is to be decided by the written procedure, you can write to the Planning Inspectorate with your views.
If there is a hearing or inquiry you can still write to the Inspectorate but you may also want to go to the hearing or inquiry and take part. You need to request to take part in the process. You will also need to send a request to the Planning Inspectorate if you require acknowledgement of your comments or a copy of the appeal decision letter.
The local authority will send the Planning Inspectorate copies of any letters they have received about the site.
If you have not written about the matter before, or you have something new to say, you can write to the Planning Inspectorate. But there are strict time limits for sending them your comments - currently six months from the date of the decision letter.
If the appeal is to be decided by the written procedure, you can write to the Planning Inspectorate with your views.
If there is a hearing or inquiry you can still write to the Inspectorate but you may also want to go to the hearing or inquiry and take part. You need to request to take part in the process. You will also need to send a request to the Planning Inspectorate if you require acknowledgement of your comments or a copy of the appeal decision letter.
The local authority will send the Planning Inspectorate copies of any letters they have received about the site.
If you have not written about the matter before, or you have something new to say, you can write to the Planning Inspectorate. But there are strict time limits for sending them your comments - currently six months from the date of the decision letter.
If the appeal is to be decided by the written procedure, you can write to the Planning Inspectorate with your views.
If there is a hearing or inquiry you can still write to the Inspectorate but you may also want to go to the hearing or inquiry and take part. You need to request to take part in the process. You will also need to send a request to the Planning Inspectorate if you require acknowledgement of your comments or a copy of the appeal decision letter.
The local authority will send the Planning Inspectorate copies of any letters they have received about the site.
If you have not written about the matter before, or you have something new to say, you can write to the Planning Inspectorate. But there are strict time limits for sending them your comments - currently six months from the date of the decision letter.
Commenting on a planning appeal
Planning appeals may be made for a number of reasons, but most are made because the local authority has refused planning permission for a development.
If you had an interest in an application, whether you were for or against it, you will probably be interested in the outcome of the appeal. You may live close to the area or be a member of a residents' association or a group with a special interest.
The type of publicity the appeal receives will depend on whether it is to be decided by an exchange of written representations, a hearing or an inquiry.
If you wrote to the local planning authority about the planning application it was being considered the authority should write to tell you about the appeal within two weeks of the Planning Inspectorate accepting it.
If the appeal is to be decided by a hearing the LPA should also let you know when and where it will take place. They may also publish details of the hearing in a local newspaper if they think it's necessary.
For more information on commenting on an appeal, visit the Planning Portal.
Commenting on an enforcement appeal
If your local authority has served an enforcement notice and there is a valid appeal against it, it will write to everyone who lives in nearby property and others who they think are affected, to tell them about the appeal.
The local authority will also write to anyone who has already written to them about the site. If the appeal is dealt with at an inquiry, the LPA will normally advertise the details of the inquiry in the local press.
The appellant must display details of the inquiry, like the time and place, on the site of the alleged development two weeks before the inquiry.
These are the minimum publicity requirements. Your LPA may give appeals more publicity. For more information, visit the Planning Portal.
Commenting on an appeal online
The Inspectorate's online service, the Planning Casework Service, lets you search for and comment on an appeal electronically. The service is available through the Planning Portal.
For more information, visit the Planning Portal.
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