Should you appeal at all?
We review your decision notice and the officer’s report, and give you a considered view of your prospects. Sometimes the better route for you is a revised application, and occasionally it is to let the matter rest.
Appeals · Derbyshire
Planning appeal consultants in Derbyshire
When your application has been turned down, or an enforcement notice has arrived, it is natural to feel disappointed and unsure what to do next. An appeal is one option, and it is decided by an independent inspector appointed by the Planning Inspectorate rather than by the council.
We will read the decision carefully with you and help you judge whether an appeal, a revised application or another route is the best way forward. Appeal time limits are strict, and the clock starts on the date of the decision. It is worth speaking to us while every option is still open to you.
Key contact
Richard Pigott
Managing Director – Chartered Town Planner
How we can help
Refusals, appeals and enforcement
Whether your application has just been refused or you are facing an enforcement notice, you can come to us at any of these points. The first is often the most useful place for you to begin.
Written representations
Most appeals are decided on written evidence, so your statement of case carries the argument. We prepare it carefully, drawing on planning policy and the particular circumstances of your site.
Hearings and inquiries
Where the issues call for it, your appeal may be heard at a hearing or an inquiry. We prepare your evidence and appear on your behalf, and bring in counsel where an inquiry needs it.
Enforcement notices
If you have received an enforcement notice, we can appeal it on your behalf or talk to the council about whether a retrospective application would serve you better. The time limits here are especially tight, so it helps to contact us as soon as the notice arrives.
How we work
Taking your appeal forward
An appeal follows a set structure, and most of the work lies in making your case clearly and carefully. Here’s how we take it forward with you.
Step 1
Reviewing the decision
We read the decision notice, the officer's report and the consultation responses, to understand what your refusal really turns on.
Step 2
Prospects and route
We give you a careful assessment of your prospects, and advise which appeal procedure to ask for, or whether a revised application would serve you better.
Step 3
Your statement of case
We prepare your statement of case, setting out the policy, the evidence and the reasons we believe your scheme should be allowed.
Step 4
Submission and exchange
We lodge your appeal within the time limit, then respond to the council's statement and to any comments from other parties.
Step 5
The decision
We keep you informed through the inspector's site visit until the decision arrives, and advise you on a costs application where one is justified.
Local context
Planning in Derbyshire
If you are weighing up an appeal, it may help to see the kinds of case we have been involved in across Derbyshire. At Etwall, in South Derbyshire, a residential development we designed was allowed at appeal. If you are hoping to build new homes and your application has been refused, a case like this shows that a refusal is not necessarily the last word on a scheme.
Derby City Council’s planning committee refused Oaklands on highways grounds, although its officers had recommended approval. The inspector allowed the appeal, and the houses went on to be built. If your own application was refused against a recommendation to approve, that is something we would look at closely with you.
Where a scheme is in a conservation area, an appeal often turns on questions of design and character. At Kirk Ireton, the inspector allowed the appeal for a new home of our design in the village’s conservation area. Rural and renewable energy schemes go to appeal too: at Morton, in North East Derbyshire, a biomass system was allowed at appeal. If your scheme involves a sensitive setting or a rural business, the reasons for refusal will show us which arguments matter most.
Every appeal is decided on its own merits, so none of these cases tells you how yours will go. What we can offer you is a careful reading of your refusal, and a clear view of whether an appeal, a fresh application or another route gives your scheme the best prospect.
Strict time limits
Each type of appeal has a strict deadline, counted from the date on your decision notice, and an enforcement appeal must be made before the notice takes effect. We check the deadline that applies to you as soon as you get in touch, so no time is lost.
The appeal looks at the refused scheme
An inspector will mainly consider your scheme as it was refused, which means a substantially different design usually needs a fresh application rather than an appeal. We help you judge whether your scheme should go to appeal as it stands, or be revised and submitted again.
Costs can be awarded
Either side in an appeal can be ordered to pay the other side's costs if it has behaved unreasonably and caused unnecessary expense. We talk this through with you at the outset, so you can go forward with a clear view of the risk, and of any claim you might make yourself.
Enforcement has its own grounds
An enforcement notice can be appealed on several different grounds, and each needs its own evidence. We help you decide which grounds fit your case, and whether a retrospective application might resolve matters more simply for you.
RIBA
RTPI
IHBC
ARB
Appeals allowed
Schemes approved at appeal
Each of these was refused by the council and then allowed on appeal by a planning inspector.
Etwall
Residential Development – Etwall, Derbyshire
This project is an example of a carefully designed scheme of nine high‑quality family homes.
Kirk Ireton
New home – Kirk Ireton
Planning Design secured consent at appeal for a contemporary new house on the edge of the attractive rural village of
Strutts Park Conservation Area and Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site
Residential Development – Oaklands
Planning Design worked with Derby based house builders Meadowview Homes to prepare a sensitive redevelopment scheme for Oaklands, a large
Common questions
Refusals and appeals: your questions
How long do I have to appeal?
Strict time limits apply, running from the date on your decision notice and varying with the type of application. For an enforcement notice, the appeal must be made before the notice takes effect. The limits can rarely be extended, so if you can share your decision notice with us promptly, we will confirm the date that applies to you.
What are my chances?
Your prospects depend on the reasons for refusal and the evidence behind them. Some reasons can be answered well at appeal, while others are better addressed by changing the scheme. We will give you our view, and if we think an appeal is unlikely to succeed, we will say so and suggest another way forward.
Is it better to appeal or to apply again?
It depends on why your application was refused. If the concerns can be designed out, a revised application is often quicker and lets you address them directly. If the disagreement is about planning judgement rather than the design, an appeal may be the better route, and we can help you decide.
The council has not decided my application. Can I appeal?
If the statutory period for deciding your application has passed, and you have not agreed to extend it, you can usually appeal. This is called an appeal against ‘non-determination’, because the council has not decided your application in time. It is worth weighing that against a little more patience, and we can help you judge which is likely to bring you a decision sooner.
Can I change my scheme during the appeal?
Changes to your scheme are possible only in limited ways, because the appeal is decided on essentially what the council considered. A substantially different design is usually better made as a fresh application. If small changes would answer the refusal, we can advise you whether they are likely to be accepted.
My neighbour has been granted permission. Can I appeal against it?
The right of appeal belongs to the applicant, so as a neighbour you cannot appeal against an approval. There are other routes, such as a legal challenge to the way the decision was made, and we are happy to talk you through whether any of them fits your situation.
Wider coverage
Nearby areas we cover
Find us
Our nearest office
Planning & Design Practice — Derby (Head Office)
3 Woburn House, Vernon Gate, Derby, DE1 1UL
Derby, Derbyshire and the East Midlands
Get started
Would you like a second opinion on a refusal?
Has a refusal or an enforcement notice left you unsure what to do next? Send it to us, with the officer's report if you have it, and we will reply with our thoughts on your options. Your first conversation with us is free, and because time limits apply, the sooner you send it, the more options you are likely to keep.