Glossary
Planning appeals to the Inspectorate after a London refusal
Challenge to a refusal or non-determination, handled by the Planning Inspectorate. Usually written representations.
Challenge to a refusal or non-determination, handled by the Planning Inspectorate. Usually written representations.
A planning appeal is a challenge to a refusal, a condition or a non-determination, decided by an inspector from the Planning Inspectorate. For householder development the deadline is twelve weeks from the decision date, and the householder appeal service uses written representations only.
Householder appeals: twelve weeks from the date of the decision notice. Most other appeals: six months. Enforcement notice appeals: before the notice takes effect. These are hard deadlines — the Inspectorate cannot extend them.
Only the applicant can appeal. Neighbours who object to an approval have no appeal right; their route is judicial review, on legality rather than planning merits.
Written representations decide about 80% of appeals and are the only route for householder appeals. Hearings are used for cases needing discussion; inquiries, with advocates and cross-examination, for major or legally complex cases. Householder appeals are typically decided in eight to sixteen weeks.
Roughly a third of householder appeals succeed nationally. The ones that do usually show that the officer applied local guidance as a rule rather than weighing it, or that the alleged harm — overlooking, loss of light, dominance — is not supported by the geometry. Appeal decisions on comparable nearby properties are the most persuasive evidence available.
Design changes cannot be introduced at appeal: the inspector determines the scheme as refused. A materially amended scheme is a fresh application, and where the first was refused within twelve months the fee is waived.
Planning appeal in a Richmond upon Thames context: London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (Richmond Council) runs 72 conservation areas including the Richmond Green Conservation Area and the Kew Green Conservation Area, and there is no borough-wide Article 4 direction, so permitted development generally survives outside conservation areas. That decides how planning appeal is handled: £548 and 8 weeks for a Richmond upon Thames householder application, or £274 for the Lawful Development Certificate that records planning appeal as lawful. The law behind planning appeal sits in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the GPDO 2015 and the Building Regulations 2010.
| Householder deadline | 12 weeks from decision |
|---|---|
| Other appeals | 6 months |
| Householder procedure | Written representations only |
| Typical decision time | 8–16 weeks |
| Appeal fee | None |
| Free go on resubmission | Once, within 12 months of refusal |
No. The inspector determines the scheme as refused.
There is no Inspectorate fee, only your own professional costs.
No. Third parties have no appeal right against a grant of permission.
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