How to appeal a decision?

An applicant can submit an appeal against a planning refusal, against a condition on a planning permission or if the Council has failed to decide an application within the statutory target period.

Anyone who has been served with an enforcement notice can appeal against the notice.

There is no third party right of appeal.

Statutory Time Period

The statutory time period means that a planning application will usually take 8 weeks (or 13 weeks for major applications) to be assessed and a decision issued.

As part of the assessment of the application the planning officer will inspect the site, consult with neighbours where required (normally by the erection of a site notice), statutory bodies and other interested bodies, before a decision is made.

However, some applications may go to Planning Committee, which may extend the determination period.

What to do if your application is refused?

If your application is refused you have the right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. Appeals against the refusal of planning permission for householder development (for instance house extensions and small scale developments within the gardens of dwellings) should be lodged within 12 weeks of the date of the decision. 

All other appeals, with the exception of an appeal against an Enforcement Notice, must be made within six months of the date of the council's decision. In the case of an appeal against an Enforcement Notice this must be received by the Planning Inspectorate before the date of the Enforcement Notice comes into effect.

The Council encourages anyone who may be contemplating an appeal to discuss the matter with the relevant case officer to see if the Council's reasons for refusal can be overcome by amendments to the scheme.

Further Information

For further information see the 'Appeal a decision' page.

Due to the nature of their work, planning officers are not available to answer enquires. However, the Community Contact Centre is able to answer most non-technical questions by telephone. See how to contact the Community Contact Centre.

However if you require technical advice on general planning matters you may contact us by email at planning@hastings.gov.uk.

There may be a charge for the advice given.

Planning applications may be viewed online using our public access tool.