There is Planning Guidance on Planning Appeals and ‘Called In’ planning applications (PINS 01/2009) available to download.
If you were an objector to the planning application, the Council will notify you if the developer appeals against refusal.
The notice of the appeal will refer to the specific reasons given by the Council to refuse the planning application and the appellant’s reasons why they say that the Council was wrong.
You will get a letter from the Council that gives you the appeal number and instructions on what to do. The first step is to notify the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) of your interest and that you wish to participate in the appeal process.
The Inspector must decide on the form of appeal.
- There is a written statement only appeal.
- The least formal is a meeting between all interested parties to see if the objections can be resolved.
- A formal planning enquiry will be appropriate where cases are controversial and have raised significant local interest. See 2.1.4 of the Planning Guidance PINS 01/2009.
Next, the Inspector publishes a timetable for everyone to file and exchange witness statements. The process works on the basis that the evidence given at the enquiry should surprise no one. “Witness statements”, includes any evidence, relevant to the appeal including any expert evidence.
The procedure at the enquiry is relatively informal. The Inspector starts by outlining the procedure and discussing the best method to proceed. For example, a witness may have to be taken out of turn because of other demands on their time. The Inspector will say that s/he has read the evidence and has or will walk round the site.
Everyone gets the opportunity to ask questions. The Inspector will control the manner in which questions are asked. Although the process is oral, there should be nothing much to say beyond “it’s in my statement”.
Only the appellant and the council have an opportunity to make a final speech following the end of the evidence. Usually the appellant and council are represented by planning lawyers.
see the Planning Portal website for further advice on Planning Appeals.
Appeal cases.
Planning appeal judgements are of weight in subsequent planning decisions. A number of planning appeals have direct relevance for other groups are dealing with similar cases. Some of these cases have been listed as useful precedent.