Planning Appeals
A refusal of planning permission is not the end of the road.
Only 20% of planning refusals are appealed, yet most appeals we take on are successful. If your council has refused permission and the decision feels unfair, we can help you challenge it — quickly, professionally, and with a strong chance of success.
5★ Rated on Google
Backed by hundreds of 5-star reviews from happy homeowners and developers.
Hundreds of Successful Appeals
From extensions and conversions to complex enforcement cases, we’ve helped clients achieve planning success.
Led by Chartered Planners
RTPI-accredited consultants with over a decade of public and private sector experience.
Why Appeal?
Most refusals can be challenged, and the process is simpler than people realise.
Council planning officers work hard, but their decisions aren’t always correct or fair. Policies are applied too rigidly, context is misunderstood and some refusals are simply wrong.
Appealing gives you access to an independent planning inspector — someone with no connection to your local council. Appeals are usually decided through written submissions, resolved in a few months and free to submit. You don’t attend meetings or hearings; we manage everything for you.
How Our Appeal Process Works
A clear process designed to get results
1. Free Case Review
We start by assessing your refusal and giving you an honest view of your chances.
We review the officer’s report, the drawings, relevant planning policies and any constraints affecting your site. If we believe your appeal has a strong prospect of success, we’ll outline the steps involved and provide a transparent, fixed-fee quote. If it doesn’t, we’ll tell you — no pressure, no false promises.
2. Appeal Statement
Every successful appeal begins with a strong strategy.
We examine the planning history of your property, review comparable local decisions, study satellite imagery and analyse the council’s reasoning in detail. We identify where the officer has misinterpreted policy, overlooked material considerations or simply made an incorrect judgement. The result is a clear plan that guides how we present your case to the inspector.
3. Evidence & Strategy
This is where the case is won or lost.
We prepare a comprehensive written statement that responds to every point raised by the council, sets out the national and local policy position, and explains why permission should be granted. Our statements are evidence-led, logically structured and written explicitly for planning inspectors, who value clear, reasoned arguments supported by facts — not emotion.
4. Submission & Management
Once your statement is finalised, we take care of everything.
We submit the appeal, complete the necessary documentation, respond to any further questions and liaise with the Planning Inspectorate throughout. Most appeals are decided through written representations, meaning you won’t need to attend a hearing. We keep you updated at each stage until the decision is issued.
Why Choose Us?
We specialise in planning appeals and we win hundreds every year.
We are one of the UK’s leading planning appeals consultancies, with success rates well above the national average. Our chartered planning consultants prepare robust, evidence-led cases that give you the strongest possible chance of overturning a refusal.
We handle every part of the process — reviewing your plans, drafting appeal statements, liaising with the inspectorate, and keeping your case moving quickly. Our fees are fixed and transparent, and your first assessment is completely free.
Frequently asked questions
Who decides planning appeals?
Planning appeals in England and Wales are decided by the Planning Inspectorate, a central government agency based in Bristol. The inspectorate is entirely separate from local councils. When you appeal, an independent inspector is appointed to consider your case and make a decision.
The Planning Inspectorate has published a guide to the planning appeal process – available here.
What kinds of appeals are there?
You can appeal against a refusal of planning permission, a refusal of an application for a Certificate of Lawfulness (also known as a Lawful Development Certificate) or an Enforcement Notice. You can also appeal if you have submitted an application and the council has not made a decision in time (usually within 8 weeks).
Finally, you can also appeal against conditions that have been attached to an approval of planning permission.
How much does an appeal cost?
Appeals to the planning inspectorate are free. There is no fee payable to the government, except in the case of some enforcement appeals.
If you would like us to act on your behalf, we will review your case, provide some initial advice on your prospects of success, and give you a clear quote for preparing, submitting and managing the appeal. We charge fixed fees rather than hourly rates, so you know in advance what the process will cost.
For an appeal relating to the refusal of planning permission for a homeowner extension, our typical fees are in the region of £1,000 to £1,500 plus VAT.
Larger or more complex cases may cost more, but all fees are agreed upfront before any work is undertaken.
What is the appeal process?
Most planning inspectorate appeals are decided through written representations, meaning that both sides submit written Appeal Statements and the inspector makes a decision based on those arguments.
The inspector will usually carry out a brief site visit. The site visit is purely for the inspector to see the site and is not an opportunity for either side to make its case.
The appeal process is generally straightforward and stress free. Our consultants will handle all correspondence and there is little for you to do. You may need to provide access to the inspector for the site visit but can otherwise just await the decision.
What is your success rate?
Around 40% of appeals are successful.
40% might not seem like a high proportion, but it means that the planners are getting their refusals wrong almost half the time.
We are one of England’s leading planning appeal consultancies and we win around 70% of the appeals we undertake.
A lot of appeals are submitted without professional advice and without much chance of success. Some appeals are speculative and deserve to fail. A strong appeal for a sensible proposal, backed by a good Appeal Statement, stands a very good chance of success.
We will not take on your appeal if we don’t think you can win.
How long does it take?
We aim to prepare a draft Appeal Statement for you to review within two weeks of getting your instructions.
The appeal itself will take several months to be decided. The inspector published up-to-date average timescales for appeals on its website here.
What is the time limit for appealing?
If your application was for extensions to a house, you have 12 weeks to appeal from the date you received the decision. For non-householder applications, you have 6 months in which to appeal.
There is no deadline for appealing Certificate of Lawfulness decisions.
If the council has not made a decision, you have six months to appeal from the date on which they should have made that decision.
There are strict deadlines for appealing Enforcement Notices – check our enforcement page for more details.
Is it better to resubmit my application before appealing?
You shouldn’t rush to appeal. You should only appeal when you submitted a strong application and the council has refused it without good reason.
When you receive your planning refusal, you should look closely at it to work out whether the council’s decision is fair. Contact our consultants for advice on whether we think the decision adds up.
If you think you can amend your design to resolve the issues raised in the council’s refusal, it makes sense to revise and resubmit your application.
However, if you think the council has got the decision wrong or you are not willing to make the changes the council wants, you should appeal.
Will appealing harm my relationship with the council?
Will my neighbours be notified?
When you submit an appeal, the council writes to neighbours in the same way they do for a normal planning application. For smaller, householder appeals (for extensions etc), neighbours have no right to comment on the appeal.
For larger appeals, they are entitled to write in with their comments (but neighbour objections do not matter as much as you might think).
Will I have to appear in person or give evidence?
96% of all appeals are decided through ‘written representations’, where the decision is made based on written Appeal Statements only. There is no in person discussion of the case.
Some appeals go to a hearing or public inquiry – this is rare and usually only for larger, more complicated schemes.
Do I really need a planning consultant? Can I do this myself?
You can submit your own appeal, but it is not usually a good idea.
The skills of a planning consultant are valuable in working out how best to argue your case at appeal. All of our consultants are chartered town planners and all have worked in local council planning departments, making planning decisions. They know if, and how, a refusal of planning permission can be overturned.
If you wold like to submit your own appeal, check out Chapter 5 of Martin Gaine’s book, How to Get Planning Permission: An Insider’s Secrets, which guides you through the appeal process and explains how to write a good Appeal Statement.
Will you tell me honestly if I don't have a good chance at appeal?
Can I appeal a refusal and resubmit the application at the same time?
Won't the appeal inspector just back up the council's decision?
Appeal inspectors are entirely independent of your local council and will reach their own decision. They are in no way biased towards the council or your neighbours or any other third parties.
They work for a central government agency, rather than local councils, and have a different perspective from case officers. They are less likely to be influenced by local politics and they pay close attention to the government’s national planning guidance, such as the need to built new homes and to allow existing homeowners to extend their homes.
Why do the planners get it wrong? Why do they refuse applications unfairly?
Councils refuse applications unfairly all the time. Around 40% of planning appeals are successful, suggesting that the planners get it wrong pretty often. Why is that?
One reason is that they are overworked and underpaid and usually decide applications on the very last day (of the usual 8 week deadline for decisions). This means that their assessment can be rushed and mistakes made.
Also, much planning decision making is subjective. The planner might not like some aspect of your design, but someone else might find it acceptable.
The planners are also inclined to follow their published guidance very closely – they don’t like making exceptions to their rules. If the guidance says that they won’t usually grant permission for a side extension (for example), they will automatically refuse even if a side extension is justified in your case (because it is hidden away from the streetcar your neighbour already has one, for example).
What happens if we lose?
If you appeal is dismissed (refused), do not despair. We will work through the inspector’s decision with you to work out what parts of your proposal they were happy were and what they disliked.
Sometimes, a refused appeal can still be a step forward towards an approval, perhaps through a revised planning application to the council.
Do you offer a 'no win, no fee' service?
No, we have a simple, fixed-fee charging structure. We ask that clients pay half of our fee upfront and the remainder when their appeal is ready to be submitted. It is transparent – you will know exactly what you have to pay.
Beware of ‘no win, no fee’ services – some companies submit poor quality appeals in a hope that they might, by some chance, be successful, and they can cash in a large fee. For them, it is a numbers game. Since no fee is paid upfront, they feel under no particular obligation to a do a good job.
Need planning advice?
Get a free expert assessment.
Fill in the form below to receive our assessment on your chances of success. You will also receive a personalised fixed-fee quote for the preparation, submission and management of your appeal.
If you prefer to email, we can be reached at info@just-planning.co.uk.