The Government has recently announced reforms to the management of planning appeals set to come into force on the 1st April 2026.
A greater proportion of appeals will be pushed by the Planning Inspectorate to be considered under Written Representations, rather than the more lengthy (and time intensive) methods of Informal Hearing or Public Inquiry. In the majority of cases, appellants will also no longer be able to submit additional evidence through Written Representations nor will third parties be able to submit comments at appeal stage in an further effort to streamline Inspectors caseloads and expedite the decision timetable down to 8-12 weeks (currently 21 weeks at the time of writing).
What impact does this have for your planning application? There is an expectance across the industry that a much greater emphasis will now be placed on the initial stages of the application process with there being little opportunity to strengthen a weaker development with further consultant reports and justification at appeal stage.
This means that it is now more important than ever to get it right first time round with a considered Planning Strategy and accompanying Statement addressing all material considerations at application stage.
If you have any queries on how these reforms will affect your development please do not hesitate to get in touch with Mialex for an informal chat and planning strategy advice.
