The appeal form and the documents that go with it

More appeals fail at the door than at the decision. The Planning Inspectorate returns appeals that arrive after the deadline, that are missing the decision notice, or that omit drawings the council had, and a returned appeal cannot be resubmitted once the period has expired. The argument never gets read.

So the first job is administrative. Get the pack right, then worry about the case.

Starting the appeal

Appeals are made under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and submitted through the Planning Inspectorate's online casework service, which walks you through the appeal type and the required documents. A paper form is available where online submission is not practical.

The deadlines are the part to fix first:

Those periods run from the date on the notice, not the date you received it. Diarise the deadline the day the refusal arrives, and aim to submit a fortnight early, because uploading a large document set the night before is how references get missed.

Documents that must accompany the form

The Inspectorate is deciding the same application the council decided, so it needs everything the council had.

• The completed appeal form, including the grounds of appeal.
• A copy of the original application form and the ownership certificate.
• The decision notice, or evidence of the date the determination period expired on a non-determination appeal.
• A site location plan with the site edged red, and any land in the appellant's control edged blue.
• Every drawing submitted with the application, at the same revision numbers the council assessed.
• Every supporting document, including the Planning Statement, any Design and Access Statement and all technical reports.
• The officer's report and the consultee responses, where you want the inspector to have them in front of them rather than to look them up.

Two habits help. Name every file so it identifies itself without being opened, using the drawing number and revision. And check the drawing schedule on the decision notice against the files you are uploading, because a permission or refusal usually lists the approved or considered drawings by number.

Serving copies on the council

The council is notified through the casework service, and it is sensible to email the case officer separately to say the appeal has been lodged, quoting the appeal reference once you have it.

That courtesy has a practical purpose. The authority has to complete a questionnaire and return the case file within a short window of the start date, and an officer who knows the appeal is coming produces a more accurate questionnaire. It also opens the door to a conversation about whether the council will contest the appeal, which occasionally ends the matter.

Read the questionnaire when it appears on the case file. It shows what the authority holds, which consultees it treated as relevant, and whether the officer report you have is the final version. On a case that turns on a consultee objection, that document sometimes reveals the objection was withdrawn and never recorded on the register.

What the Inspectorate checks

Validation is administrative rather than merits based. The checks are:

1. Is the appeal in time.
2. Does it relate to a decision or a failure to decide that carries a right of appeal.
3. Is the correct appeal type used, since householder, full and enforcement appeals run different procedures.
4. Are the required documents present and legible.
5. Is the appellant the applicant, or someone with the standing to appeal.

An appeal that fails any of these is returned with an explanation and, where time allows, an opportunity to correct it. Where the deadline has passed, there is no discretion to extend it.

Illustrative example: a householder appeal against a rear extension refusal, submitted in week eleven with everything except the two revised elevations issued during the application. The Inspectorate asks for them, the appellant supplies them in week thirteen, and the appeal is valid because the original submission was in time. Had the whole submission slipped to week thirteen, it would have been out of time and unarguable.

Common reasons appeals are returned

The list is short and repetitive. Missing decision notice. Missing plans, particularly revised drawings issued mid-application. Wrong appeal type, usually a householder appeal used for a scheme that includes a new dwelling or a change of use. Appeal made by a person who was not the applicant, without evidence of an interest. And late submission, which accounts for more returns than everything else combined.

One further trap sits behind the form. On a householder appeal the form is the statement, and there is no later opportunity to submit a fuller case. Write the grounds of appeal properly at the point of submission, taking each reason for refusal in turn, rather than treating the form as a placeholder.

Answer the reasons for refusal in the council's own words. Quote each reason, then respond to it: what the policy says, what the scheme does, why the harm alleged does not arise or is outweighed. An inspector reading a statement that never engages with reason three will decide reason three against you.

Timetable after submission

Once validated, the Inspectorate issues a start date and the timetable runs from there. The council returns its questionnaire, then statements are exchanged where the procedure allows for them, interested parties who commented to the council are invited to comment again, and the inspector visits the site.

Site visits are unaccompanied where everything relevant can be seen from public land, and accompanied where access to the property is needed. On an accompanied visit the inspector will not discuss the merits, and attempting to argue the case is counterproductive. Have the plans with you, offer access where it was requested, and point out anything physical the inspector asks about. That is the whole of your role on the day.

Decisions are issued in writing with reasons. On the written representations procedure the whole process typically takes a few months, and the current published timescales are the place to check rather than any figure quoted second hand.

If you think the council behaved unreasonably, a costs application is made separately and usually alongside the appeal. It is not a routine step, and it succeeds where a council refused without evidence, ignored its own officer's recommendation without planning reasons, or failed to substantiate a reason for refusal. The application has to be made in time and set out the unreasonable behaviour and the wasted expense it caused, so keep a note of what each round of correspondence cost you as the appeal runs.

Before appealing, look honestly at whether the refusal reasons can be designed out instead. A resubmission may be free within twelve months and is often faster. Where the objection is technical rather than fundamental, the missing evidence is usually one report: browse what a scheme of your type normally submits or enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports the site's constraints suggest.

This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional 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.