The Quality Assurance Unit will reply to you, or they will ask a section within the Inspectorate to reply because they have specific specialist knowledge.

9.2 We will investigate your complaint and you can expect a full reply within three weeks. However, we can’t reconsider an appeal if we have already given our decision on it. The only time we will reconsider an appeal is if you successfully challenge our decision in the High Court.

The High Court

9.3 The only way you can appeal against the Inspector’s decision is in the High Court. To be successful, you would have to show that the Inspector misinterpreted the law.

9.4 If your challenge is successful we will look at your appeal again.

But this doesn’t necessarily mean that the original decision will be reversed. The Inspector may come to the same decision again but for different reasons.

9.5 If you are going to challenge the Inspector’s decision, you must apply to the High Court within six weeks of the date of the appeal decision. We will send you a leaflet explaining this right with our Inspector’s decision.

9.6 If you want to challenge our reasons for making a decision, you can apply for judicial review. Judicial review is the name for the way that the Courts in England make sure that Government ministers and departments use their powers properly.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (The Ombudsman)

9.7 If you think that we haven’t treated you fairly, you can ask the Ombudsman to investigate. You can’t approach the Ombudsman direct – an MP must do it for you. This doesn’t have to be your MP but this will usually be the easiest person to ask. You local library will be able to give you the name and address of your MP. The Ombudsman has no power to question the merits of your appeal or to alter the decision. He or she is only concerned with the way we deal with appeals. The Ombudsman will usually expect you to have made a complaint to us first before he or she investigates your case.

The Administrative Justice & Tribunals Council

9.8 If you feel that there was something wrong with the basic procedure we used for your appeal, you can complain to the Administrative Justice & Tribunals Council at:

81 Chancery Lane
London
WC2A 1BQ

The council will take up your complaint if you think it concerns them. Like the Ombudsman, they aren’t concerned with the merits of your appeal and have no power to alter the decision.

The Local Government Ombudsman

9.9 If you have a complaint about the way the LPA dealt with your application you can, in some cases, ask the Local Government Ombudsman to investigate. However, the Local Government Ombudsman can’t investigate a complaint about a planning decision just because you and the LPA don’t agree about it and the Ombudsman has no power to alter the decision. You can get a booklet explaining how to make a complaint by writing to the appropriate Local Government Ombudsman’s office, or from their website www.lgo.org.uk

There are three Local Government Ombudsmen in England . Each of them deals with complaints from different parts of the country.

London boroughs north of the River Thames (including Richmond but not including Harrow or Tower Hamlets), Essex, Kent, Surrey, Suffolk, East and West Sussex, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and the City of Coventry:

Tony Redmond
Local Government Ombudsman
10th Floor
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
Phone: 020 7217 4620
Fax: 020 7217 4621

London Borough of Tower Hamlets, City of Birmingham , Cheshire , Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and the north of England (except the Cities of York and Lancaster):

Patricia Thomas
Local Government Ombudsman
Beverley House
17 Shipton Road
York
YO30 5FZ
Phone: 01904 380200
Fax: 01904 380269

London boroughs south of the River Thames (except Richmond and Harrow ) the Cities of York and Lancaster and the rest of England , not included in the areas of Mr Redmond and Mrs Thomas:

Jerry White
Local Government Ombudsman
The Oaks No 2,
Westwood Way
Westwood Business Park
Coventry
CV4 8JB
Phone: 024 7682 0000
Fax: 024 7682 0001

Planning Inspectorate address, phone and fax numbers and website

In England

The Planning Inspectorate
Temple Quay House
2 The Square
Temple Quay
Bristol BS1 6PN
Helpline: 0117 372 8075
Fax: 0117 372 8782

In Wales

The Planning Inspectorate
The National Assembly for Wales
Cathays Park
CARDIFF
CF10 3NQ
Helpline: 029 2082 5670
Fax: 029 2082 5150

Website: www.planning-inspectorate.gov.uk