4 - Appealing against a refusal of planning permission

Appealing against refusal of planning permission is something that I have a particularly good experience of. I have had a good rate of success with appeals in Edinburgh, West Lothian Midlothian and Scottish Borders. I recently won a notable case at Langshaw Road in Galashiels for a storage facility in the countryside which was covered in the Southern Reporter (22 September 2017). 

If you have proposed something to a local planning authority and have been refused planning permission then you have a right of appeal. How this is handled depends upon the nature of the development and the manner in which it was refused.

One of the big issues at the moment, particularly in Edinburgh, is short term lets, or what people often think of as Air B 'n' B. Basically the letting out of a property for short term holiday accommodation (weekend, a week or fortnight usually). Since the Scottish Government gave Local Authority's the power to designate areas of control for short term lets, planning authorities have been able to designate areas within which use of a house or flat for short term letting will require planning permission. Edinburgh has designated the entire authority area, so basically anyone now operating such a use will require planning permission. 

Smaller developments (local developments) are normally handled within the planning offices, with powers having been delegated to them by the Council. These are determined without being considered by the Council Members (Councillors). In the case of such a decision, if it results in the refusal of the planning permission, then the course of appeal is to the Council Members. This is an appeal to the local review body (LRB). This LRB is made up of a specified number of the Council Members, and is very similar to the planning committee.

Larger developments which are classified by the planning regulations as major developments have to be determined by the Planning Committee and cannot be handled only by the planning office. If these are refused, then it is a Council Planning Committee refusal, and the route for any appeal is via the Scottish Government, and what is current its Directorate of Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA).

Some local developments can also be determined by the Planning Committee. This may happen if the application has exceeded a given number of objections against it. It may also be required to be dealt with by the Planning Committee if one of the Council Members, whose ward the development is sited within, requests it. This has to be for good planning reasons. 

Once an application ends up at the Planning Committee, the decision process becomes a more politically biased rather than a purely professional one. The decision will be based upon the professional planning officer’s committee report; however the Planning Committee may decide to overrule the officer’s recommendation for whatever reasons they deem to be correct, and this may be because the proposed development brings added benefits to the local economy or community. In

What to do when your application is refused.

Once you have received notification that your planning application has been refused you may decide not to pursue the matter any further. You may decide to apply again for something completely different. You may decide to amend the proposal to try to accommodate the concerns of the planning officials or Council Members. You may also consider appealing against the refusal as you consider that the decision was not correct.

If you decide to appeal against the refusal you should have 3 months to submit your appeal, either to the LRB or DPEA, and the decision notice should explain clearly how to do this.

What Service will Gain Planning Services provide?

As long as you decide to proceed in some way or another, I can be of help. 

The first thing to remember is that a revised planning application will not require a further fee to the planning authority, so long as it is for a proposal which has basically the same character as the original proposal. Secondly, an appeal does not incur any cost payable to the planning authority or to the Scottish Government. 

Gain Planning Services can assist you in either of these options. 

Should you wish to make an appeal, I can provide realistic advice on the likelihood of achieving a positive outcome.