You must fill in the appropriate appeal form. This can be done online or on a paper form obtained by calling Customer Services on 0303 444 5000 or by e-mailing a request for a form to enquiries@pins.gsi.gov.uk.
You must make sure the form and all essential documents are received by the Planning Inspectorate within the time limit for the type of appeal you are making.
The type of appeal form you use will depend on the type of application that was submitted to the local planning authority. You can contact Customer Services on 0303 444 5000 if you are unsure which form to use, or you can access the various types of online forms.
The way an appeal is dealt with can depend on the issues involved. For further guidance please see the Planning Appeal Procedural Guidance.
If an appeal was made online and an acknowledgement was received with an appeals reference number this means it has reached the Planning Inspectorate. If it was sent by Special or Recorder Delivery and you tell us the reference number we can track it. Other post will take a few days to be scanned onto the system to enable us to confirm receipt.
For a Householder appeal we will try to issue a decision within 8 weeks of the Start date of the appeal in the majority of cases.
For a Planning appeal we will try to issue a decision within 26 weeks of the Start date of the appeal in the majority of cases.
You can do this online by searching for the appeal and accessing the comment facility.
You can also comment by e-mail to the team mail box (shown at the top of our letters or it may be quoted by the local planning authority in their letter to interested neighbours), or by sending three copies of your comments to us in the post.
No. There is no right of appeal for an interested party if an application has been approved.
No. You cannot make an appeal against an appeal decision. You can make a legal challenge to the decision, or a complaint about it. For further guidance please see Good Practice Advice Note15.
Each documents attached to an online appeal must be no larger that 5mb.
Individual e-mails must be no larger than 10mb.
For further guidance please see Good Practice Advice Note 06.
The guidance provided on how long appeals are taking is from Start date to decision. We aim to issue the decision within those time limits.
Yes, copies of Decision Letters remain available for 5 years after the date of the decision. Older Decision Letters are available only in hard copy. From 2006 most new Decision Letters became available on the internet in electronic format only.
Hard copy Decision Letters. Letters in this format are currently available for appeals decided within the last 5 years. This hard copy collection will reduce year by year. From October 2011 the vast majority of the collection then current will be in electronic format and available from the Planning Portal (see below). For those remaining hard copies of Decision Letters still available please contact :-
The Customer Support Unit, (Tel: 0303 444 5000)
Email: DL.Library@pins.gsi.gov.uk
Electronic Decision Letters: Prior to 2006 most Decision Letters were only available in hard copy. During 2006 the transition from hard copy to electronic copy began. Now most, if not all, new decisions are available in electronic format only. These can usually be obtained free of charge using our online search facility:
http://www.pcs.planningportal.gov.uk/pcsportal/casesearch.asp
The last 7 numerals of the Planning Inspectorate’s reference indicates whether the decision is in hard copy or electronic format. If the reference begins with a ‘1’ it is available in hard copy; if it begins with a ‘2’ it is available electronically.
Most requests for hard copies of Decision Letters are supplied free of charge, Multiple requests may incur a charge if in excess of approximately 40 Decision Letters are requested at any one time. This will also depend upon the size of the Decision Letters requested.
To help us locate your requested Decision Letter, we need the Planning Inspectorate’s reference number which begins ‘APP’ and finishes with 7 numerals. If you do not have this reference it can be obtained from the relevant Local Authority. However, we can search our database using limited information but this must include the site address and the Local Authority name. On completion of the search you will be informed of the search results. You can then let us know if you require any of the decisions shown in the search results. If no information on the specific appeal is found you may wish to contact the relevant Local Planning Authority.
Yes, we can search the database and contact you with the results. Some searches produce results that are too extensive to convey in detail by telephone. Results can then be sent by post, fax or e-mail giving you the opportunity to request any appeal decisions you may require.
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