The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (‘MHLG’) announced that more planning appeals will be subject to a quicker and more simplified procedure under new regulations. The changes will apply to most planning appeals, which are decided via the written representations procedure, and should allow for decisions to be made more quickly. The Planning Inspectorate CEO Paul Morrison has said the changes will “benefit us all by removing unnecessary administrative burdens and focusing on what matters: well-informed, timely decisions based on high quality applications from the start.” The reforms are expected to take effect by the end of 2025.
What are the changes?
The MHLG has provided some limited guidance on the changes to the written representations appeals process which is available here, more detailed guidance is expected later in the year.
As it stands, the type of planning appeals which can utilise the written representations appeals process is limited to householder and minor commercial appeals (known as Part 1 process). The changes are looking to broaden the scope of the Part 1 process to include appeals which relate to:
- Refusal of planning permission or reserved matters;
- The imposition of conditions on approvals; and
- Refusal of prior notification or prior approval.
Any appeals received following the revised regulations coming into force will follow the new expedited process and those that are made before the new regulations, will follow the existing procedure.
Impact of the changes
The changes look to make the process more transparent, specifically in relation to the information which needs to be submitted as part of a planning application and any subsequent appeal. It will very much be the job of the local planning authorities (‘LPA’s) to be clear and transparent at the outset on what is required and signpost applicants as appropriate.
All Part 1 appeals will be decided on the same basis and information that was submitted as part of the planning application, unless there are exceptional circumstances which justify the need for new evidence. It is not yet clear what those exceptional circumstances may be; this is something we hope will be covered off in future detailed guidance.
The new Part 1 process will require local planning authorities to confirm all the information they considered when deciding the planning application. This will include plans, drawings, reports and any other relevant information. This new requirement will remove the need for planning officers to submit an appeal statement and the LPA’s case will be represented based on the previously drafted officer’s report or committee report and the decision notice. This new change means that LPA’s will need to ensure those documents are sufficiently robust and contain enough information to support their decision if it were then to be decided within the new expedited process.
By removing the need to submit further evidence the Planning Inspector will reduce the amount of documentation received, which in turn cuts down the time spent by them, the LPA and the appellant. The appellant should only need to submit a copy of their application, the decision notice issued by the LPA and a brief statement responding to the decision and their reasons for disagreeing with it. Limiting the documentation to be submitted will reduce the administrative burden on all parties and create a more streamlined process.
Within the new process there will be no final comments stage. The LPA’s case will be supported by the officer or committee report and the resultant decision notice. This removes the burden on LPA’s which are currently required to process and publish the comments of interested parties. Whilst there will be no opportunity for further comments from interested parties, they can choose to withdraw any comments previously submitted so that they are not considered at the appeal stage.
Next steps
This new process will put more emphasis on applications being appeal ready from the point of application. It will also mean that the LPA’s reports and decision notices will need to be robust enough to stand on their own if they were to be challenged via appeal.
The MHLG has said that they will provide updated procedural guidance once the final draft of the regulations is received, this is expected by the end of this year. We will publish an update once further information is released, in the meantime if you have any queries regarding the planning appeal process or other planning matters please do get in touch with our planning team.
