The applicant has the right of appeal to the Government against refusals. Full details on how to do this can be found on the reverse of the formal Decision Notice. In almost all circumstances the right of appeal is an open system, and interested parties will be notified by the council of the appeal and given the chance to submit their comments.

Most appeals are dealt with in writing. However, in some cases an Informal Public Hearing is held, and very occasionally a formal Public Inquiry will be required.

There is no right of appeal by third parties against approvals. It is possible for affected parties to challenge the validity of a planning decision in the High Court although this is a very rare occurrence and would require specialist legal advice.

Householder appeals - procedure changes 

The Householder Appeals procedure changed in April 2009 and the Planning Inspectorate issued a new certificate and notification in support of the application forms.

This documentation is available to download below:

• Article 6 - Certificate Householder Development
• Article 6 - Notice Householder Development