Guide to taking part in enforcement appeals

The High Court

An appeal decision can only be challenged on legal grounds in the High Court.

To be successful you would have to show that:

The Inspector, or the Assembly, had gone beyond their powers; or

We did not follow the proper procedures and so damaged your interests.

If you do not have a legal or equitable interest in the appeal land you only have a statutory right of appeal to the High Court if the decision on the enforcement notice appeal granted planning permission or discharged conditions and as a result your interests have been substantially prejudiced. Your challenge would be made under section 288 of the 1990 Act. If you do have a legal or equitable interest in the appeal land you can challenge any part of the decision on the enforcement notice appeal under section 289 of the 1990 Act.

If your challenge is successful, the High Court will overturn the original appeal decision and return the case to us, and we will look at it again. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the original decision will be reversed. We may come to the same decision, but for different reasons.

If you decide to challenge the appeal decision under section 288, you must apply to the High Court within six weeks of the date of the appeal decision. If your challenge is under section 289 you should apply to the High Court for their permission to make the challenge within 28 days of the decision. If you request a copy of the appeal decision, we will send you a leaflet explaining in greater detail your right to challenge it.

Judicial Review

If you do not have any interest in the appeal land itself, but wish to challenge an enforcement appeal decision made on ground (b) to (g), or the decision to quash the enforcement notice, you may make an application to the High Court for judicial review. This is a non-statutory procedure.

Before you decide to challenge any appeal decision you should understand that, if unsuccessful, you will probably have to pay the other side’s legal costs of defending the decision. You may well wish to seek professional legal advice first.

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