Planning appeals

When to appeal

You can appeal to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if:

• We have refused planning permission
• We have granted an application with conditions that you think are inappropriate
• We did not decide an application within the appropriate time
• We have served an enforcement notice because of an alleged breach of planning

If you are thinking of appealing against a planning decision, or conditions of a planning application, we would ask you first speak to the planning officer dealing with your application. You may be able simply to amend the proposal to make it acceptable.

How to appeal

You can appeal online using the Planning Portal. You will also find help on how to appeal and how the appeal process works.

The appeal will go initially to the Planning Inspectorate, an independent agency in the government's Department for Communities and Local Government. A planning inspector, appointed by the Secretary of State, will make a decision.

What happens when someone appeals

When someone appeals, we will notify anyone who was originally told of the planning application and those who made representations.

We will send copies of all letters of representation to the Planning Inspectorate and anyone who commented originally will be able to make further comments to the Inspectorate if they want to.

If the person making the appeal has chosen the fast-track householder appeal service, anyone who commented originally will be notified of the appeal, but they will not be able to make any further comments to the Planning Inspectorate.

Search for appeals

Your can look at documents for appeals that have been decided in the last five years through the Planning Portal online appeals search.

If the appeal is more than five years old, you will need to contact us using the contact details below.