Making your planning appeal
9 The decision
The Inspector’s decision
9.1 The Inspector will write to you with his or her decision. It will usually:
- briefly describe the proposals;
- identify the important planning issues; and
- explain why the Inspector has come to the decision.
9.2 We will send a copy of the decision to the LPA and anyone else who
is entitled to a copy or who asked for one.
For appeals decided by the written procedure, we aim to issue the decision
no later than five weeks after the site visit. For hearings, this will
be no later than seven weeks after the date of the hearing. For inquiries
which last for one or two days, this will be no later than seven weeks
after the close of the inquiry. For inquiries that last longer, it will
usually take longer to issue the decision. We cannot guarantee that we
will meet these targets in every case.
If the Secretary of State is making the decision, it may take longer.
Decision by the Secretary of State
9.3 The Inspector will send a report to the Secretary of State. The
Inspector’s
report will include conclusions on the issues raised and a recommendation
as to whether or not the appeal should be allowed.
9.4 The Secretary of State doesn’t have to accept the Inspector’s
recommendation and will consider everything that is relevant. Sometimes
the Secretary of State disagrees with the Inspector’s recommendation.
This may be because he or she takes into account new evidence introduced
after the inquiry, or because he or she disagrees with one of the Inspector’s
findings. In these cases you and the LPA will have a chance to comment
before the decision is made. If it is necessary, we may re-open the inquiry.
Someone appointed by the Secretary of State will sign the letter telling
you the decision.
9.5 The Secretary of State will send a copy of the decision letter and
the Inspector’s report to the LPA and anyone else who is entitled
to a copy or who asked for one.
