Planning Appeals & Representation

Turn a refusal into an approval. Expert RTPI-accredited planning appeal
consultants across Milton Keynes and the Home Counties.

Discuss Your Appeal

It is important to be aware that planning permission can be refused by a local planning authority. We can help our clients formulate planning appeals that give them the best chance of successfully reversing that decision.

Once permission has been refused, we will use our professional expertise and experience to formulate the best strategy to help you get the result you need. We can help to present the strongest case for any development scheme and have an excellent record of success, even if we were not involved in the original planning application.

Our planning consultants will offer evidence on the main aspects of an appeal either in written statements or in person at hearings or public inquiries. This ensures that your plans are presented in the best possible light. Where further specialist evidence is required to address certain aspects of a councils refusal, we can introduce and then work with those third parties to provide you with a coordinated statement of case.

Generally, planning appeals are considered against the same criteria as the original application, taking into account both the national and local policies that are in place. If changes have been made to the development scheme since the original application but before the appeal, these will be reviewed. Some appeals will be referred to the Secretary of State. More recently, this has been particularly true for larger residential developments in areas with a Neighbourhood Plan in place or if they affect Green Belt land.

At Apex Planning Consultants, we can bring on board experts in a number of fields such as ecology, environment, highways and heritage for instance - to present their findings to the local authority. We can also look at ways to amend the scheme that will give it a far better chance of success, sometimes by citing the Wheatcroft Principle.

The Householder Appeals Service – this is the system used for most appeals by householders and is designed to be a streamlined system, meaning it should be quicker and involve less cost than for other forms of appeal.
The Commercial Appeals Service is generally used for shop fronts and advertisements and follows the same principles as the Householder Appeals Service.
Written representations are the most common type and are used for the majority of appeals. This can be utilised for appeals relating to most development proposals and it involves the exchange of a Statement of Case by the appellant and the council, with a further stage allowing a written response or rebuttal.
Hearings occur when the Planning Inspector wants to ask questions about any of the evidence that has been supplied in more complex applications, thereby ensuring there is an opportunity to more robustly challenge arguments. This is often described as an informal round-table approach to discuss different points of view and follows the exchange of Statements of Case. The need for an informal hearing means this appeal procedure takes a little longer to determine.
Inquiries allow for evidence to be tested in very complex cases. Expert witnesses may be cross-examined and the public and press might also attend. Such appeals will normally also involve the instruction of counsel to provide legal representation during the Inquiry, which might sit for a day or more.

We have years of experience in formulating planning appeals and can help and guide our clients through the often complicated process, offering assurance and guidance to help get the result they want.

We will be clear and honest with our opinions about the likelihood of success and whether taking part in the appeals process is going to be worth the time, effort and expense.

For more information on the planning appeals process, please contact a member of the team.

Discuss Your Appeal