How a reason for refusal frames a planning appeal

The reason for refusal wording on a decision notice is the single most useful document in an appeal, and it is also the one most often written in a hurry. Article 35 of the Development Management Procedure Order 2015 requires the notice to state clearly and precisely the full reasons for refusal, and to specify all policies and proposals in the development plan that are relevant to the decision. What that produces in practice ranges from a forensic paragraph naming three policies and the specific harm, to two lines asserting that a scheme is out of keeping.

The difference matters because an inspector decides a section 78 appeal as if the application had been made to them in the first instance. The reasons do not bind the inspector. They do set the battleground.

What a reason has to state

A usable reason for refusal does four things: it identifies the harm, it says which part of the proposal causes it, it names the development plan policies the harm breaches, and it states why that harm is not outweighed.

Compare these two, both refusing the same scheme:

"The proposal would be out of keeping with the character of the area, contrary to policy DM1."

"The proposed three storey element, at 11 metres to ridge against 7.5 metres on the adjoining pair, would interrupt the established roof line of the terrace and would be visible above the parapet from the conservation area boundary 40 metres to the south, contrary to policies DM1 and HE3."

The first gives you nothing to answer. The second tells you the case is about ridge height, roof line and one specific view, which means your appeal can be about those three things and your evidence can be a section and a photomontage rather than a general essay on character.

Counter-intuitively, the second is harder to win against. Specificity helps the authority as much as the appellant. That is worth remembering when you are negotiating during determination and the officer offers to keep the wording general.

Broad reasons against narrow ones

A broad reason is a liability for the authority at appeal, because the inspector will ask what evidence supports each strand of it and the answer is often that nobody has produced any. A narrow reason concentrates the argument and usually concentrates the evidence too.

For the appellant, the practical consequences:

• A broad reason means a wider statement of case, more evidence, and a longer appeal. You cannot safely ignore any part of a reason simply because the authority has not developed it.
• A narrow reason lets you commission one specialist rather than three, and lets you argue that matters outside it are not in dispute.
• A reason that recites a list of policies without explaining the breach of each invites a request for clarification at questionnaire stage, and a well timed letter asking which limb of which policy is relied on sometimes produces an abandonment.

Reasons drafted after a committee has refused against officer advice deserve separate attention. The officer who writes them was recommending approval an hour earlier, and the reasons are frequently drafted to reflect what members said rather than what the evidence supports. Those are the reasons most likely to be abandoned or to attract a costs application.

Policy references and their effect on scope

The policies named in a reason set the framework the inspector will work within, and they carry three consequences.

First, they identify which development plan is being relied on. Where a policy is out of date, superseded by a newly adopted plan, or has been replaced since the decision, say so early. A reason built on a policy that no longer applies is a weak reason.

Second, the National Planning Policy Framework edition matters. The current Framework was published on 17 August 2026 and uses policy codes in place of the paragraph numbers used in the December 2024 and December 2023 editions. A refusal citing an old paragraph number needs translating before either side can argue about it, and the translation is sometimes contested.

Third, a policy named in a reason opens up the whole of that policy, including the parts that help you. Read each cited policy in full, with its supporting text, before deciding the shape of the appeal. Our note on reading reasons for refusal before you decide to appeal covers that first pass in more detail.

Carry the same policy analysis into the Planning Statement for any resubmission, because a statement that answers the reasons policy by policy is the fastest route to a different recommendation.

New objections at appeal stage

The authority is not confined to its reasons. It can raise new matters in its statement of case, and the inspector can decide the appeal on an issue neither party has emphasised, subject to giving both sides a chance to deal with it.

What changes with timing:

Third parties can also raise matters the council never did, and the inspector must consider representations properly made. Our note on interested party representations at appeal sets out how those are handled and what weight they carry.

So plan the appeal around the reasons, and prepare for two or three predictable additions. On a householder scheme those are almost always overlooking, parking and the effect on the street scene, whether or not the notice mentions them.

Reasons the authority drops

Abandonment is common and it is good news, with a caveat.

An authority that abandons a reason should say so clearly, in the questionnaire or its statement of case, and should confirm it does not intend to defend that ground. Once abandoned, the issue is normally out of the appeal, although an inspector who considers the point important can still deal with it because the appeal is a redetermination.

Two practical steps. Get the abandonment in writing, and confirm it in your own statement so the inspector's decision records that the matter is not in dispute. Then check whether abandonment changes the evidence you need. A refusal on highways and design, reduced to design alone, may no longer need a transport consultant, and the fee saved is real. The questionnaire is where most of this surfaces, as set out in our note on the appeal questionnaire and the council's statement.

Costs where a reason is unsupported

Costs in planning appeals are awarded for unreasonable behaviour, not for losing. The Planning Practice Guidance on appeals identifies the behaviour that attracts an award, and several limbs bear directly on refusal reasons: preventing development that should clearly have been permitted, failing to produce evidence to substantiate a reason for refusal, making vague or generalised assertions about a proposal's impact without supporting evidence, and relying on policies that are no longer relevant.

An application for costs needs to be made at the right time and supported by a record. If you think a reason is unsupported, write to the authority early, say which reason and why, and ask what evidence it intends to rely on. That letter becomes the foundation of the costs application, and it quite often produces an abandonment instead, which is a better outcome than an award.

Reading the reasons to plan the appeal

A practical sequence, on the day the refusal arrives:

1. Separate the reasons into limbs. A single numbered reason often contains three complaints.
2. Against each limb, write what evidence the authority would need to prove it, and who would have to give it.
3. Against each limb, write what evidence you have and what you would have to commission.
4. Identify the limbs you can remove by amending the scheme, and decide whether a resubmission is the better route.
5. Decide the procedure. Written representations for a single narrow issue, a hearing where the facts need testing, an inquiry where expert evidence has to be cross examined.
6. Diarise the deadline. Twelve weeks for a householder appeal and six months for most others, from the date on the notice.

Step four is the one people skip. An appeal against a reason you could design out is an expensive way of making a point.

If you are preparing a resubmission rather than an appeal, enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports the revised scheme is likely to need.

This is general guidance, not legal advice, so take advice on your own appeal before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.