Planning FAQ
What if my planning application is refused?
Three options: amend and re-submit (free for 12 months), appeal to Planning Inspectorate, or accept the decision. We advise on which path.
Three options: amend and re-submit (free for 12 months), appeal to Planning Inspectorate, or accept the decision. We advise on which path.
You have two routes: revise and resubmit — normally free within twelve months of the refusal — or appeal to the Planning Inspectorate within twelve weeks for householder development. About a third of householder appeals succeed, and roughly one in ten householder applications is refused in the first place.
A refusal must give reasons, and they are the whole map of what to do next. Reasons that describe a quantifiable problem — depth, height, a window position, a 45-degree breach — are usually designed out. Reasons about the character of a conservation area or harm to a listed building are harder to answer with a small change.
Resubmit where the reasons can be designed out. It is faster, it is normally free within twelve months, and the officer already knows the case. Appeal where the judgement itself is wrong, or where the change demanded would make the scheme pointless.
The two are not mutually exclusive. On a marginal case, appealing the refusal while submitting a reduced scheme keeps both options open — though the appeal decides the scheme as refused and no amendments can be introduced during it.
Written representations only, no fee to the Inspectorate, twelve-week deadline from the decision date. An inspector visits the site, reads the statements and decides. Typical decision time is eight to sixteen weeks. Appeal decisions on comparable nearby properties are the most persuasive evidence available.
No. Only the applicant has a right of appeal. A third party unhappy with an approval must seek judicial review, which tests legality rather than planning merits and is rare in householder cases.
How what if my planning application is refused? plays out in Richmond upon Thames: London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (Richmond Council) maintains 72 conservation areas, the Richmond Green Conservation Area and the Kew Green Conservation Area among them, and there is no borough-wide Article 4 direction, so permitted development generally survives outside conservation areas. Anyone dealing with what if my planning application is refused? at a Richmond upon Thames address is therefore working to a £548 householder application decided in 8 weeks, or a £249 prior approval over 6 weeks where what if my planning application is refused? still qualifies. are the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the GPDO 2015 and the Building Regulations 2010.
| Householder appeal deadline | 12 weeks |
|---|---|
| Appeal fee | None |
| Appeal procedure | Written representations |
| Typical decision time | 8–16 weeks |
| Success rate | Around one third |
| Free resubmission | Once, within 12 months |
No. The inspector determines the scheme exactly as refused.
Yes, planning history is public, but a later approval supersedes it in practice.
Often, because it establishes what the officer would accept before you spend again.
Pick a slot that suits you. No obligation and no sales pressure, just straight answers on your planning route.
