How the decision is made

Appeals are judged by Inspectors, who are completely unbiased and professionally qualified in planning or a related area, like law or architecture.

An Inspector will decide most appeals, but there are some appeals that the Secretary of State will decide (for example, proposals that will affect more than just the local area). In those cases, the Inspector will still assess the appeal, but they will send a report with their recommendation to the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State then considers whether to accept the Inspector’s recommendation, and issues a decision letter through the Planning Central Casework Division.

The Inspector will write their decision, or send a report to the Secretary of State. Where the Inspector decides the appeal, The Planning Inspectorate will send a copy of the decision to:

• the person making the appeal (the appellant);
  
• the local planning authority (LPA); and
  
• anyone else who wrote to ask them for a copy.