Written representation appeals
Many appeals, particularly for householder and smaller schemes, are decided entirely in writing. We prepare your case and the evidence behind it, so an Inspector can follow your argument easily.
Appeals · Sheffield
Planning appeal consultants in Sheffield
If your application has been refused, it is natural to feel disappointed, particularly after the time and care you have put into it. Whether the decision came from Sheffield City Council or the Peak District National Park Authority, it is worth looking carefully at the reasons before you decide what to do next.
We can read the decision with you, give you our view on whether an appeal has a reasonable prospect, and explain the other routes open to you. Appeals are handled in house by our planners, so you can talk it through with the people who would prepare your case.
Key contact
Richard Pigott
Managing Director – Chartered Town Planner
Where we help
How we can help after a refusal
Whether your refused scheme is a single extension or a larger development, the right approach depends on your case and your circumstances. Here’s what we can take on for you, depending on where things stand.
Hearings and inquiries
If your case is larger or more contested, the Planning Inspectorate may decide that a hearing or an inquiry is needed, and we will prepare the case and help you through each stage.
Revised applications
Sometimes a revised scheme that answers the reasons for refusal is the better way forward for you. If that applies to your case, we will say so, and our architects can help you with the changes.
Enforcement and lawful development
If you have received an enforcement notice, or would like to confirm that an existing use or building is lawful, we can explain your options and act for you.
Step by step
How we work with you on an appeal
Your appeal will have its own particulars, but most follow the same broad steps, and you will know at each one what is happening and what comes next.
Step 1
Reading the decision
We read the decision notice and the officer's report with you, and give you our view on whether to appeal, revise the scheme or pause.
Step 2
Choosing the route
We agree the approach with you, including the appeal procedure to ask for and the evidence your case will need.
Step 3
Preparing the case
We prepare your appeal and the evidence behind it, check that it answers each reason for refusal, and submit it within the time limit.
Step 4
Through the appeal
We deal with the Planning Inspectorate on your behalf and keep you informed as the appeal progresses, including any site visit or hearing.
Step 5
The decision and after
We explain the Inspector's decision when it arrives and talk you through what comes next, whatever the outcome.
Local context
Planning in Sheffield
Your decision notice and the officer’s report are the best place to start. Together they show what concerned the Council, and they usually point towards the options open to you.
The appeals we take on range from single householder extensions to larger schemes. In Sheffield, a refusal might turn on the effect of an extension on neighbours across a steep garden, the character of a conservation area, or a proposal on Green Belt land on the city’s fringe, and each of those calls for a different kind of evidence.
For each case, we look at whether the reasons for refusal stand up against the policies the Council relied on, what evidence would help, and whether a revised application might get you to a permission sooner. Sometimes the answer is an appeal, sometimes it is a better-evidenced resubmission, and occasionally it is to leave the scheme where it is. We will give you our view openly, and the decision is always yours.
If you go ahead with an appeal, our planners prepare the case for the Planning Inspectorate, and our architects can help where drawings or visuals would make your case clearer. If the design needs to change instead, the same team can revise it, so nobody new needs to learn your scheme from scratch.
Strict time limits
The time allowed for an appeal is strict, runs from the date of the decision and varies with the type of application. We check your deadline as soon as we see your decision notice and plan the work so your appeal is made in good time.
The scheme you applied for
Your appeal is decided on the scheme the Council refused, so it cannot be used to redesign the proposal. Where changes would answer the Council's concerns, we will tell you whether a revised application is likely to serve you better.
Decisions inside the National Park
If your site is inside the Peak District National Park, your refusal will have come from the National Park Authority rather than Sheffield City Council, and your appeal needs to answer the Authority's own policies. We prepare appeals against decisions from either authority, building your case around the policies that were actually applied.
Evidence on sloping sites
Where a refusal turns on the effect on neighbours, the difference in levels between gardens can be at the heart of it. We use accurate sections and photographs to show the Inspector how your scheme would really sit beside the houses around it.
RIBA
RTPI
IHBC
ARB
Good to know
Questions about planning appeals
How long do I have to appeal?
The deadline depends on the type of application, and it is strict, counting from the date of the decision. The sooner we see your decision notice, the more of that time you will have to prepare a strong case.
Should I appeal, or submit a revised application?
That depends on the reasons for refusal. If your scheme came close and the concerns can be met with changes, a revised application is often quicker for you, while an appeal may suit you better if the Council’s position is firm but, in our view, not well founded. Either way, you will know our reasoning, so you can make the decision with confidence.
Who decides an appeal?
Appeals are decided by the Planning Inspectorate, which is independent of both Sheffield City Council and the Peak District National Park Authority. An Inspector looks at your scheme afresh against planning policy and the evidence, which is why a carefully argued case can succeed after a local refusal.
Will I have to attend a hearing?
Most householder and smaller appeals are decided in writing, usually after the Inspector has visited the site, with no hearing at all. If the Planning Inspectorate decides your appeal needs a hearing or inquiry, we will prepare you for it and explain what happens on the day.
What are my chances of success?
Your case will be tested carefully against the reasons for refusal, the policies the Council relied on and comparable appeal decisions, so you can decide whether to go ahead with realistic expectations. Nobody can promise an outcome, and we will always be candid with you about the risks as well as the strengths.
I have received an enforcement notice. What should I do?
An enforcement notice can feel alarming, but there are usually options, and the sooner you act, the more of them remain open. Any appeal has to be made before the notice takes effect, so if you send it to us promptly, we can explain your choices, which may include an appeal or an application to regularise the work.
Find us
Our nearest office
Planning & Design Practice — Sheffield
The Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX
Sheffield and South Yorkshire
Planning authorities
Appeals support
Has your application been refused?
If you have a decision notice, you are welcome to send it to us with the plans you submitted. We will read the reasons for refusal and talk you through the options open to you, and because appeal time limits are strict, it helps to speak soon after the decision arrives. The first conversation costs you nothing.