Guide to taking part in planning appeals - If you want to comment on
someone else's appeal
Appendix 4 – Template for sending your comments
We recommend that you use this layout when sending us your comments about an appeal. If you are able to get your comments typed, this will help the Inspector.
- Your name and address.
- The Planning Inspectorate appeal reference number (this will start APP/…).
- The address of the appeal site.
- ‘I am against the appeal proposals’ or ‘I support the appeal proposals’
- Your comments.
If you are against, say whether it is for the same reasons as given by the LPA or, if not, explain your own reasons.
Or, say why you support the appeal proposals. - Say if you would like us to send you a copy of the decision notice.
Guidelines on putting forward appeal documents, statements and proofs of evidence
Why we have published these guidelines
We are publishing these guidelines now to prepare everyone for when our Planning Casework Service (our new on-line system for making and tracking appeals) will be available.
At that time, you will be able to put forward your appeal documents electronically if you want to. If you decide to put forward your appeal documents on paper, we will then scan them to create an electronic copy on our system.
Whichever method you choose, your appeal documents, together with any photographs and plans will appear on our Planning Casework Service and will be available for anyone to view through the Planning Portal
Viewing handwritten forms and other documents
It helps the people reading these documents if the originals they are scanned from are as clear and legible as possible. As a result, when filling in forms by hand please write in CAPITAL LETTERS and use black ink.
Viewing typed documents
Most appeal documents are created using a computer, and authors can choose which typeface (font) they use.
As many people will read these documents on-screen rather than download and print them, we suggest that you use a typeface like Arial or Verdana.
These are sans serif styles, a category of typeface that do not use serifs (small lines at the end of characters). Serif fonts include Times New Roman.
Research has shown that documents in a sans serif typeface are easier
to read on-screen.
Ideally, we would like you to use a font size of 11 point or larger.
Preparing your statement or proof of evidence
Because of the high number of paper documents we are likely to receive until people become familiar with the electronic service and the benefits that it offers, scanning paper documents will be a huge task.
it will help us to scan documents if paper documents are of a standard
size such as A4 and loosely bound.
it would help us greatly if you would prepare your appeal documents in
the following way.
- Please use A4 wherever possible.
- Please number the pages of the documents
- Print documents on both sides of a page if you want to. However, it helps us if the quality of paper is such that something on one side of the page does not show through to the other side.
- Please make sure photocopied documents are clear and legible. We cannot improve the quality of poor photocopies when scanning them.
- Please put photographs, maps, plans, and so on in a separate appendix and cross-reference them within the main body of the document.
- Please do not stick photographs to sheets of paper. It is much better if you put them in an envelope and write the site address or appeal number (if you know it) on the back.
- Please bind documents in such a way that bindings can be undone quickly without damaging the document. For this reason, it is better to avoid using wire or plastic spiral binders.
- Please avoid using cover sheets, sleeves or other bindings that do not add value or information. They make it more difficult to scan the documents and will increase the size of the electronic file. This make them slower to open or download.
- Please do not send valuable original documents unless we specifically ask for them.
- Please do not include Post-it notes or small attachments which might be dislodged easily or lost.
Our Planning casework Service
We will introduce our Planning Casework Service soon. It is an on-line service that gives people in England and Wales wider and easier access to the planning system.
The service will make it easier for our staff to manage casework. It will allow people to see our work through the Planning Portal so they can track the progress of cases.
For more information about the Planning Casework Service, visit
www.planningportal.gov.uk.
