If you seek consent or permission to carry out particular works to your property (such as building an extension) and your application:

• isn't decided within a set period; or
• the local authority refuses your application or grants it on conditions you disagree with;

you usually have a right of appeal.

You can appeal to the Planning Inspectorate for appeals in England and Wales, or to the Planning Appeals Commission if you are in Northern Ireland.

When to appeal

You should only appeal as a last resort. You should have been discussing your proposed scheme with the LPA during the course of your application for planning permission. If you think that making changes to your proposal could resolve the LPA's reasons for refusal, you should discuss these with the LPA before appealing. A further planning application to the LPA may be your best route.

After you've submitted your appeal

Once your appeal has been submitted, it will be checked to make sure that everything is in order. The Case Officer dealing with your appeal will let you know what else you need to do during the course of your appeal, and when you need to do it. After all the documentation has been gathered together, the Inspector will consider all the evidence in the light of:

• The development plan
• Local and national policy
• Your statement of case
• The local authority's statement of case
• Comments you make on their statement and vice versa
• Comments submitted by anyone else

Your case will be considered on its merits. Your statement should cover all the points that you consider relevant, but you should try to keep it as short as possible. The Inspector appointed to deal with your appeal has access to all national planning policy and if you want to refer to it, you need only quote the particular paragraphs of the relevant documents.

In England and Wales, you can submit your appeal online using the Appeals Casework Portal. For Northern Ireland, see the Planning Appeals Commission.