We look into your case, for free, initially and let you know what we think your prospects are at appeal. Sometimes we recommend appealing even if a case has a low chance of success because of the potential reward and / or because the Inspector, even in refusing, can be very helpful in reducing the number of issues a council can rely on to reject a subsequent application.
If instructed we write a Statement of Case setting out our argument. This is a quasi-legal document going into the detail as to why we believe planning policy (both local, regional and national) is on your side. We often rely on precedents and our detailed knowledge of other appeal decisions and court case law in making these arguments.
The Statement of Case, once signed off by you, is submitted. Following that:
A Validation letter is received. This simply confirms the appeal has been submitted according to the “rules”, by the relevant deadline, with all the necessary documents and has been accepted by the Inspectorate. Usually, this comes through within a week or two of submission.
A Start letter is received. This is the official start of the appeal and usually contains important appeal deadlines – for the Council’s documents and any final comments. This is usually only sent once an Inspector has been appointed to the case – when we receive it will depend on when a relevant Inspector becomes available in your local area. For heritage the wait tends to be longer. This is usually received within 1-3 months of the validation letter.
The Local Planning Authority (LPA) (mostly the local Council) submits their questionnaire and supporting documents. The questionnaire is just their version of the “appeal form” we completed when the appeal documents were submitted. The supporting documents will just be relevant local planning policies and documents produced/received at the application stage.
The LPA submits their Statement of Case. This isn’t a requirement, it’s up to the Council whether they submit one or not. Consultation comments – from neighbours and potentially statutory consultees if the Council chooses to consult these – will also come through around this time.
Final comments. This is our opportunity to respond to any comments made by the LPA, consultees and any objectors. If final comments are required, we usually charge an additional day’s work depending on what is needed. We also tend to wait to the deadline to submit comments to avoid giving the LPA an opportunity to issue a further response.
Site visit is conducted. We usually receive notification of this a couple of weeks before the date. We’ll be provided a date and a window of 2 hours and someone will have to be present to grant access.
A decision is issued. This is usually received within a few weeks of the site visit.
Appeals seem on average to be taking between 6 months to a year to reach a decision, with heritage-related appeals taking the longest.
