Referrals to the Secretary of State (SoS)

There is provision within the appeal process for the SoS to intercede and overturn any decision of the planning inspectorate before it is published.  

• A referral to the SoS is not common. This should be limited to those applications that are of ‘national interest’ or are receiving significant media interest
• The SoS can chose to accept or dismiss the planning appeal
• When SoS intercedes this will be fully disclosed within the appeal decision statement

Can an appeal decision be overturned?

Once an appeal is decided it is very difficult to overturn. It would be necessary to submit the matter to the high court within 6 weeks of the appeal decision.

• Appeals against an appeal decision are normally focused on bias or incorrect procedures used to decide the planning appeal
• ‘A win’ at the high court will simply pass the issue back to the Planning Inspectorate for it to be reassessed
• The high court process is very costly and it is very unlikely that all costs would be recovered in the event of  a decision against the Planning Inspector (or potentially the SoS)

Subsequent planning applications and appeals:

Having failed, the developer is able to lodge a new planning application with the council or may start a new appeal. It is not unusual for a developer to have 3 or 4 concurrent planning applications under review and for 2 of these to be at appeal.

The planning process can appear never-ending with multiple rounds of planning applications overlapping with each other. When this occurs the following should be noted:-

• The developer is hoping that residents tire and get worn down - they fail to object to a specific application
• An objection letter for a planning application does not carry-over to the next (often very similar) planning application. Ensue that each application and appeal receives a dedicated objection letter (with the correct reference number)
• Objection letters for subsequent planning applications can often be opened with a paragraph stating that the new planning application fails to sufficiently address the refusal reasons for the previous application.  A copy of the previous letter can also be attached so that the new content of the objection letter can focus on the changes that are inherent in the new application/appeal     

By Geoff James

Introduction to the planning appeal process

Cont..

Disclaimer

The information and opinions within this site are for information purposes only. They are not intended to constitute legal or other professional advice, and should not be relied on or treated as a substitute for specific advice relevant to particular circumstances. Local Planning Apps shall accept no responsibility for any errors, omissions or misleading statements on this site or for any loss which may arise from reliance on information contained within this site. No mention of any products, shall imply any approval or warranty as to the standing and capability of any such products on the part of Local Planning Apps or its clients.

© Copyright Geoff James 2016

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