No - It's Not An April Fool

In an attempt to speed up the town planning appeal process, the Government is amending the Written Representation appeal process by scrapping the submission of Statements of Case. This will be effective from the 1st April and affect nearly 95% of all appeals - for which the current average decision time is 21 weeks. Instead, Planning Inspectors will rely solely on the information that was submitted at the planning application stage.

The restriction on the submission of new evidence will apply to appellants, local planning authorities and third-party objectors / supporters. The documents to be assessed by Inspectors will be limited to:

• The planning application as determined (all documentation).
• The decision notice.
• The local planning authority (LPA) committee minutes and planning officer report.
• The appeal form.
• The LPA appeal questionnaire.

Goadsby Director of Town Planning Peter Atfield comments, “The intention to speed up appeals is laudable, but will it slow down the application process? I can foresee applicants wanting to submit more information, documentation and evidence to support their planning applications – requiring more detailed review and scrutiny from already over-worked local authority planning officers. Time will tell".

For further details contact Peter Atfield B.TP MRTPI MTCPA FRGS FRSA on 01202 550100 or e-mail: [email protected]