Planning Appeals

Should the Council decide to refuse a Planning Application, the applicant may, within 6 months of the date shown on the Decision Notice or expiry of the decision period, make an Appeal against the decision. Appeals are made to the Secretary of State for the Environment and are dealt with by The Planning Inspectorate on his behalf. The Council is represented by our Planning Appeals Officer.

Most appeals are lodged by applicants who have submitted a planning application which the Council has decided to refuse. There are however a variety of other matters which may become subject to appeal including enforcement notices issued by the Council against unauthorised development.

Appeals can be dealt with in a number of ways. Most appeals are resolved through an exchange of written representations but in some cases an informal hearing or a public inquiry will be arranged.

The public can express views on any development proposal which becomes the subject of an appeal, however third parties are not able to appeal to the Secretary of State against a planning decision taken by the Council. Anyone who has already made representations to the Council on a planning proposal, will be informed when an appeal is lodged.

The Council is able to provide information about the status of an Appeal and a list of all current Appeals lodged with the Council and those Appeals determined by the Planning Inspectorate within the last 6 months, may be downloaded from the links opposite and are updated weekly.

More information on planning appeals is available in a booklet published by the Planning Inspectorate titled 'A Guide to taking part in Planning Appeals' and is available from the Council.

Further information, including an online, searchable list of Planning Appeals and decisions may also be viewed on the Planning Portal website, where there is also Appeals Guidance for the General Public and professional users.

You can also make an Appeal online.

If you require further information regarding Planning Appeals at West Oxfordshire please contact:

Chris Woods (Senior Appeals Officer) on 01993 861677