Planning Appeals

eMail: planning.services@doncaster.gov.uk | Telephone: 01302 734876 | Fax: 01302 734949
Address: Danum House, St Sepulchre Gate, Doncaster, DN1 1UB.

What are your rights?

Any applicant has a right of appeal against a decision given by the council, the right of appeal has to be through the Planning Inspectorate if -

No decision has been reached on the application within the statutory 8 week period
The application has been refused
The applicant does not agree with one or more of the conditions on an approval.

Appeals are time consuming and, depending on the method of appeal you choose, can be expensive. Before you opt for this course of action, it is worth speaking to the planning officer who dealt with your application to see if there is scope to negotiate a compromise and submit an ammended application.

If, however, you feel that an appeal is the only option, please remember that there are strict time limits on the right to appeal. Appeals submitted outside these limits will normally be turned away.

The deadline for submitting an appeal is now 6 months from the date of the application decision letter (or in the case of non-determination, 6 months from the date the decision should have been made).

There are three ways in which an appeal can be dealt with

Written Representation - this is the quickest method. The applicant and the Council prepare written statements for the Planning Inspectorate to consider. A Planning Inspector will visit the site and then issue a decision.
Informal Hearing - with the agreement of both parties and where the planning issues are quite straightforward an informal hearing may be called. This is a discussion of the issues involved between the parties which is led by the Planning Inspector.
Public Inquiry - each side presents its case verbally before an Inspector and the witnesses for each side can be cross-examined by the opposing parties. This is usually a more lengthy and expensive procedure as it normally involves professional representation and complex arguments.

The Inspector's decision is final and you have no further right of appeal except to the High Court on a point of law.

Again it must be stressed, it may be worth speaking to the planning officer who dealt with your application to see if there is any scope of altering the application in some way and then submit a ammended application. If you feel there is no alternative, the links below will help.