Rosewell Report on appeal inquiries

An independent review of Planning Appeal Inquiries chaired by Bridget Rosewell OBE has made recommendations on how to make planning inquiries faster and more effective. The Rosewell Report, published December 2018, makes suggestions that could halve the time for planning inquiries to reach a decision to 6 months.

Proactive management of appeals

The most significant changes require the Planning Inspectorate to become more proactive in managing the inquiry process. The Report recommends that Inspectors need to be appointed as soon as an appeal has been validated so that the Inspector's review of the statement of case can help inform how the inquiry can be managed. This should be combined with active case management, with clear dates and deadlines, to focus evidence on the key issues and avoid wasting time at inquiry.

Success rates

The average success rate for appeals is highest for appeal inquiries, with 56% of appeals through this route allowed, compared to 44% for Hearings and 34% for written representations, based on data from 2013 to 2018.  Appeal inquiries are however the most expensive format and are dependent upon the agreement of the Planning Inspectorate that a public inquiry is warranted.

Timescales for public inquiries

Only 2% of appeals follow the inquiry route.  Although they have a higher rate of success, they also take longer, on average 47 weeks from receipt of the appeal to a Decision. The Rosewell Report suggests these timescales could be reduced to 24 weeks in 90% of cases.
The Rosewell Report can be found here and the Executive Summary here.

Improvements to appeal processes

The changes recommended by Rosewell are very welcome.  The Government has indicated that it intends to take them forward, and we look forward to an improvement in the process over the next 12 months.

To find appeals that are relevant to you, use the search on our Home page.

Briget Rosewell OBE