Covering letter for a resubmission after refusal

A resubmission covering letter has one purpose: to show the case officer, in the first two pages, that every reason for refusal has been answered and exactly where in the submission the answer sits. Officers reading a resubmission start from the previous decision notice. If your letter is organised the same way, with a heading for each reason for refusal, the recommendation writes itself. If it is organised as a general description of the scheme, the officer has to do the mapping and the first thing they will do is check whether anything actually changed.

There is usually a fee concession for one further application within twelve months of the refusal, which is why resubmitting often costs less than appealing. The concession has conditions, and it only works once.

When the fee concession applies

Regulation 9 of the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications, Deemed Applications, Requests and Site Visits) (England) Regulations 2012 provides for one further application without a fee where the earlier application was refused or withdrawn. The core conditions are that the further application is made by the same applicant, on the same site, for development of the same character or description, and that it is submitted within twelve months of the refusal.

Four details catch people out.

The twelve months runs from the date of the decision notice for a refused application. For an application withdrawn before a decision, the period runs from the date the earlier application was made, which is a shorter window than most people assume.

The concession is available once per refusal. A second resubmission attracts the full fee.

Same character or description is interpreted by the authority, and a scheme that has changed from three dwellings to one, or from a shop to a takeaway, may not qualify. If your changes are substantial, ask the validation team before you submit rather than after.

And the fee regulations have been amended more than once, with fees indexed annually from 1 April, so check the current regulations and the authority's own fee page before assuming the application is free. Confirm the position in writing, because a resubmission submitted on the wrong fee assumption sits invalid while the clock runs.

Structure the letter around the reasons for refusal

Use the decision notice as your table of contents. Quote each reason for refusal in full, in the authority's own wording, then answer it under its own heading.

A workable structure for the letter:

1. One short paragraph identifying the site, the previous application reference, the decision date and the fact that this is a resubmission under the fee concession.
2. A table listing each reason for refusal against the document or drawing that responds to it.
3. A section per reason for refusal, quoting the reason and setting out the change, with drawing numbers.
4. A section dealing with consultee objections that did not become reasons for refusal.
5. A short note on anything that has not changed and why.
6. The document schedule, with superseded drawing numbers marked.

The table in point two does most of the work. An officer can see at a glance that reason 1 is answered by revised drawing 102 revision C and paragraph 4.3 of the Planning Statement, and reason 2 by a new daylight assessment. That is the page they will keep open while writing the report.

Be explicit about what has not changed. A resubmission that quietly leaves one reason for refusal unaddressed, hoping it was the weakest, invites a second refusal citing that reason alone.

Showing what changed, drawing by drawing

Vague descriptions of change are the commonest weakness. "The scheme has been reduced in scale" tells an officer nothing they can condition or defend at committee.

Give the numbers. The rear projection reduced from 4.5 m to 3 m. Ridge height lowered by 600 mm. First floor side window omitted and the remaining window obscure-glazed to level 3 and fixed below 1.7 m. Two parking spaces added with a turning head to the highway authority's standard. Each of those is checkable against a drawing, and each gives the officer wording for a condition.

Reference every change to a drawing number and revision. Where a change responds to a specific policy test, say which test. If the refusal cited harm to the amenity of a neighbour by loss of light, state the change and then state the result: the 45-degree line taken from the centre of the neighbouring window at ground floor is now clear, shown on drawing 110 revision B.

Update the Design and Access Statement rather than resubmitting the original. A document that still describes the refused scheme undermines the letter that says the scheme has changed.

Consultee objections get their own section

Reasons for refusal are not the whole story. The highway authority may have objected and been overruled. The lead local flood authority may have asked for information that never arrived. Environmental health may have recommended a condition the committee did not impose.

Deal with each consultee response from the previous application separately, even where it did not become a reason for refusal. Say what the consultee asked for, what you have now provided, and whether you have spoken to them. A resubmission that arrives with a letter from the highway authority withdrawing its objection is close to unarguable on that point.

Where the objection needed technical work, get it done before submission rather than offering it by condition. An officer who has already refused once has little appetite for a scheme that asks to resolve the same issue later.

What not to say about the previous decision

Resist the urge to argue that the refusal was wrong. There are three good reasons.

The officer reading the resubmission may be the officer who recommended refusal, or the one who has to defend the committee's decision. A letter that opens by criticising the reasoning starts the relationship badly for no gain.

Arguing the merits of the previous decision belongs in an appeal, where the inspector reconsiders the application. In a resubmission the question is whether this scheme is acceptable, so every paragraph spent on the last one is a paragraph not spent on this one.

And anything you write becomes part of the public file. A letter asserting that the committee ignored its officers will be read by the objectors who lobbied them, and it will be quoted back.

State the position neutrally. The application was refused for the reasons set out in the notice dated whenever, and this application responds to each of them. Then move on.

Resubmission or appeal

The choice turns on whether the reasons for refusal are capable of being designed out.

Resubmit where the reasons are specific and technical: a window position, a parking shortfall, a missing assessment, a boundary treatment. Those cost less and take less time to fix than to argue, and the fee concession usually applies.

Appeal where the refusal turns on a matter of planning judgement you think is wrong, such as whether a site is suitable in principle, or where the authority has applied a policy you say is out of date. An appeal under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 must be lodged within six months of the decision for most applications, and within twelve weeks for a householder appeal, so check the deadline on the decision notice before deciding.

The two are not mutually exclusive. Lodging an appeal and submitting a revised application in parallel is a recognised tactic, and it keeps the appeal deadline alive while the resubmission is determined. Where the change you need is to an existing permission rather than to a refused scheme, a section 73 application is a different and often simpler route.

Comparison drawings and how to present them

Submit the comparison material as its own document, not as annotations on the proposed drawings.

Pair the refused and proposed drawings at the same scale on facing pages, with the changes outlined and numbered, and a short caption for each. Include a schedule of drawings showing the superseded number against the replacement. Where a dimension changed, put both figures on the comparison sheet.

One illustrative example, to show the level of detail: on a refused two-storey side extension, a comparison sheet might pair the refused and revised first floor plans, mark the 1.2 m set-down from the main ridge, mark the 1 m set-back from the side boundary, show the omitted flank window, and carry a note that the resulting side elevation leaves the neighbour's first floor window with a clear 45-degree line on plan. Figures used here are illustrative rather than a standard.

Then check the validation list again. Resubmissions get refused validation more often than people expect, usually because a plan was superseded but not relisted or because the fee concession was claimed without the earlier reference quoted.

You can draft the planning statement and supporting documents for a resubmission in PlanScope and see which reports the site needs at all 66 report types, or enter a postcode on PlanScope. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Fee concessions and appeal deadlines are set by regulation and change, so check the current rules with your local planning authority before relying on them.