If you have received a refusal from the Council then all is not lost. You have the right to appeal to the Secretary of State within 6 months of the decision (or 3 months in the case of a Householder application). All appeals are handles by the Planning Inspectorate.

You have three routes of appeal open to you:

• Written Representations;
• Informal Hearings;
• Public Inquiries.

We can help you choose the appropriate route and take you through the process.

We have access to a wealth of case law and appeal precedents to help construct a robust and successful appeal.

Costs award

Since April 2009 it has been possible to apply to the Planning Inspectorate for some or all of your incurred costs at appeal where the Local Authority have acted unreasonably. We can help construct a case to get your costs back if appropriate.

Fast Track

For appeals relating to householder planning applications (extensions, loft conversions etc) you can now choose for the appeal to be heard via a Fast Track Householder Appeal Service. This normally is completed within 12 weeks. Standard appeals take 21 weeks on average.

Appeal Case Studies

West Sussex

• Appeal for two storey extension to converted barn
• 60% increase in floorspace
• Horsham District Council

Plainview Planning was approached after our client’s application was refused. We stepped in and advised a dual strategy – resubmit a revised application and appeal the original refusal. This was chosen to ensure a result as quickly as possible.

In the end, the Planning Inspector allowed the appeal and  agreed with our view that the extension, although large, caused no harm to the countryside or the neighbours. Our Visual Impact Study certainly helped – using CAD and CGI we prepared ‘before and after’ images that helped the Inspector visualise the proposal.


Surrey

• Change of use from residential to office
• Retrospective application with threat of enforcement looming

We received a panicked phone call from the owner of an office unit, that was home to four businesses. It transpired that the scheme did not actually have planning permission for office use, and the Council were threatening enforcement action. On closer examination, the scheme was in breach of nearly every local planning policy.

We put together a robust analysis of the local office market and the impact on the small businesses at the premises. The appeal was allowed, and the Inspector considered that the loss of small business space was a material consideration.

The project was delivered on time and below budget.