Finding appeal decisions on the Inspectorate casework service
Appeal decision letters are free, searchable and full of reusable reasoning. They are also not binding precedent, and citing them as though they were is the quickest way to lose the point.
Appeal decisions are published by the Planning Inspectorate and searchable on its appeals casework service, where you can filter by local planning authority, appeal type, procedure and date. For most practitioners that is the fastest route to finding how an inspector has treated an issue on comparable facts. The decision letters are free, they are usually published within days of issue, and they carry the inspector's own reasoning rather than a summary of it.
What they do not carry is binding force. A decision letter is evidence of an approach, and pitching it any higher than that is the fastest way to lose the point.
Where appeal decisions are published
The Inspectorate's casework service holds appeal records and published documents, including the decision letter and any associated costs decision. Each appeal carries a reference in a standard format built from a prefix, a code identifying the local planning authority, a letter denoting the appeal type, the year, and a serial number.
The type letter is worth learning for the two you will use most: D for householder appeals and W for other planning appeals under section 78. Enforcement, listed building, advertisement and lawful development certificate appeals each have their own letter, and filtering by type removes most of the noise from a search.
Where you already know the reference, searching on it takes you straight to the record. Where you do not, start with the authority and work down.
Searching by authority, procedure and date
Three filters do the work.
The local planning authority, because most questions are about how an issue is treated in a particular policy context. The procedure, because a decision reached after an inquiry with cross-examination carries more analytical weight on a technical point than one determined on written representations. And the decision date, because a decision made under a superseded development plan or an earlier edition of the National Planning Policy Framework may have been overtaken.
Free text searching across decision letters is the weak part of any register, and it is worth supplementing with a search engine query restricted to the Inspectorate's published documents. Search for the distinctive phrase an inspector would use rather than the topic: "very special circumstances" and "livestock building" will find more than "green belt farm".
Keep the reference and the date for everything you download. Appeal decisions get re-cited for years, and a citation nobody can retrieve is worse than none.
Reading a decision letter for the main issues
Decision letters follow a consistent shape, and reading them in order saves time.
- Procedural matters, which record what was agreed, what changed and what the inspector declined to consider.
- The main issues, stated by the inspector. These are the questions the inspector decided the appeal turned on, and they are frequently narrower than either party's case.
- Reasons, working through each main issue with findings of fact and the application of policy.
- Other matters, covering points raised that did not become main issues.
- Planning balance and conclusion.
- Conditions, often in a schedule, with the inspector's reasoning on any that were contested.
The most useful paragraphs for reuse are usually in the reasons and in the conditions schedule. An inspector's formulation of a test, or a condition an inspector has found necessary and precise, is material you can quote in a submission with a clear provenance.
Procedural matters deserve more attention than they get. That is where you find out that the appellant submitted revised plans that were not accepted, which explains an otherwise puzzling outcome.
Finding the costs decision alongside it
Costs decisions are issued as separate documents and are published with the appeal record. An award of costs follows unreasonable behaviour that has caused another party to incur wasted expense, and the guidance on when an award is appropriate sits in the Planning Practice Guidance on appeals.
They repay reading for two reasons. They tell you what conduct the Inspectorate regards as unreasonable, which is useful when a council is being difficult about validation or about a refusal reason with no evidence behind it. And an authority that has recently had costs awarded against it on a particular type of refusal reason tends to be more careful the next time.
An application for costs must be made at the right point in the process. Check the current procedural guidance before relying on any deadline, because the rules on timing have changed.
Recovered and called-in cases
Two categories of decision are made by the Secretary of State rather than by an inspector. Recovered appeals, where the appeal is taken out of the inspector's hands after the inquiry, and called-in applications under section 77, where the application is removed from the local planning authority before it is decided.
In both, the inspector writes a report with recommendations and the Secretary of State issues a decision letter that may or may not follow them. Read both documents. The inspector's report contains the detailed findings of fact, and the decision letter contains the policy judgement, and the interesting cases are the ones where they diverge.
These decisions carry more weight than an ordinary appeal decision on a question of national policy interpretation, because they are the Secretary of State's own application of that policy.
Citing a decision without overstating it
Appeal decisions are not binding precedent. Each case turns on its own facts and its own development plan, and an inspector is not bound by another inspector.
What the law does recognise is consistency. Where a previous decision on materially similar facts points the other way, a decision maker should give reasons for departing from it. That is a duty to explain, not a duty to agree.
So cite an appeal decision for what it can carry: that an inspector on comparable facts accepted a particular technical approach, gave weight to a particular benefit, or found a specific form of mitigation sufficient. Attach the letter, give the reference and the date, quote the paragraph, and state in one sentence why the facts are comparable. Then set out the analysis in your own Planning Statement rather than leaning on the appeal as though it decided your case.
Overstating is the common failure. An advocate who says a decision "establishes" something invites the inspector to explain, at length, that it does not. Where the issue is heritage, the same discipline applies to how the Heritage Statement uses earlier decisions.
Tracking appeals on a neighbouring site
Set up a watch rather than checking manually. Most councils let you register for updates on an individual application, which will tell you when an appeal is lodged. The Inspectorate's service lets you search by authority and by date, so a periodic search filtered to your authority and the last month catches new cases.
Two things are worth watching for on a neighbouring site. The start date, because that fixes the deadline for interested party representations, which are usually due within a set period of the start letter. And the procedure, because a switch from written representations to a hearing changes what you need to prepare.
If the outcome matters to your own scheme, read the statements of case as well as the decision. They are published on the appeal record and they show you how both sides framed the issue before the inspector narrowed it. For wider policy movement, the planning law timeline is the place to keep track.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.
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Frequently asked questions
Where are planning appeal decisions published?
On the Planning Inspectorate's appeals casework service, which holds the appeal record together with the decision letter and any costs decision. You can search by local planning authority, appeal reference, appeal type, procedure and date. Decisions are usually published within days of issue and there is no charge to view or download them.
What do the letters in an appeal reference mean?
The reference is built from a prefix, a code for the local planning authority, a letter denoting the appeal type, the year and a serial number. D is used for householder appeals and W for other planning appeals under section 78. Enforcement, listed building, advertisement and lawful development certificate appeals each have their own letter.
Is an appeal decision binding on my council?
No. Appeal decisions are not binding precedent and each case turns on its own facts and development plan. Consistency is recognised, so a decision maker faced with a materially similar earlier decision should give reasons for departing from it. That is a duty to explain rather than a duty to reach the same answer.
Are costs decisions published too?
Yes, as separate documents on the same appeal record. An award follows unreasonable behaviour that caused another party wasted expense, and the guidance sits in the Planning Practice Guidance on appeals. They are worth reading because they show what conduct the Inspectorate treats as unreasonable, including refusal reasons with no evidence behind them.
What is a recovered or called-in case?
A recovered appeal is one taken out of the inspector's hands so that the Secretary of State decides it, and a called-in application under section 77 is removed from the council before determination. In both, the inspector reports with recommendations and the Secretary of State issues the decision. Read the report and the decision letter together.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.