New online appeals service launching for all local planning authorities

Tuesday, 8 July 2025 16:09

The Planning Inspectorate's new digital appeals service is being rolled out nationally following successful pilot with five London boroughs. National rollout begins We're pleased to announce the national rollout of our new online appeals service following its successful pilot phase. This represents a significant milestone in our digital transformation programme. The service has been thoroughly tested with five London boroughs (Barnet, Greenwich, Havering,...Request free trial

The Planning Inspectorate's new digital appeals service is being rolled out nationally following successful pilot with five London boroughs.

National rollout begins

We're pleased to announce the national rollout of our new online appeals service following its successful pilot phase. This represents a significant milestone in our digital transformation programme.

The service has been thoroughly tested with five London boroughs (Barnet, Greenwich, Havering, Richmond upon Thames, and Bromley) who have been handling both householder appeals (fast-track cases) and section 78 (full planning) appeals through the system.

Phased rollout approach

We're using a phased approach to roll out the service:

Cohort 1: Two local planning authorities have recently joined the pilot – Gloucestershire County Council and Gosport Borough Council.
Cohort 2: We will increase the number of authorities joining towards the end of July.
National rollout: All authorities in England will join the service by December 2025. We will be sharing more details after the summer.

Benefits for local planning authorities

The new service offers several important improvements:

streamlined submission and management of appeals, making the process more efficient
a user-friendly LPA dashboard for reviewing and monitoring cases, following GOV.UK design principles
improved communication between all parties, reducing paper-based processes
continuous improvement of the system based on user feedback

Thank you

We want to thank our pilot local planning authorities for their valuable feedback and collaboration, which has been crucial in refining the service. We're also grateful to our project team, casework teams and inspectors for their hard work in developing this system.

Further information

To stay updated on developments, follow the Planning Inspectorate on LinkedIn or sign up for email alerts via our subscription form.

Planning Inspectorate New Appeals Service - FAQSystem Access & User Management

Question	Answer
Will all planning officers need to create a new user, or do we continue with the username we normally use?	Your access is linked to your individual local authority email, due to our new ,more secure, approach to access management in the new system. A tutorial on access is available here: LPA Dashboard Management Tutorial
What is the purpose of adding individual users rather than using a collective LPA log in?	To improve security and reduce the burden on those responsible for the central email address.
Does the new dashboard system enable case officers (i.e. planners) to upload their own statement of case (SoC) via a personal log-in or will LPAs still be required to nominate a key/main admin staff member to submit all SoCs, as is currently the case?	Yes, the user management system will allow you to use your own work email address to get the one time code and upload documents to any case you are working on.
Will this mean that all officers logged into the account will get the verification code all at once?	The verification code only goes to the individual email address entered into the login.
Will the questionnaire link be accessible for multiple users at the same time?	Yes it will, but you are unable to have multiple users answer the same question at the same time.
Can an appeal be allocated on the system to a specific user at the LPA once started so that they get relevant notification emails rather than a central LPA inbox?	No, all appeals are allocated to the central LPA inbox. If there is a strong need for this, it will be considered as a future improvement.
Does every added user get notification emails when there is an update to cases or is it just the main LPA email address?	Just the main LPA email address that we hold is notified. If there is a strong need for this, it will be considered as a future improvement.
Do we still have to enter the completing officer's details in the questionnaire/statement and if so does that mean these will be visible to the public/appellant?	You no longer have to add the completing officer's details.

Notifications & Communication

Question	Answer
Do we still receive an email notifying us of a new appeal submission or are we required to log into the portal to check?	Yes, you will receive an email to inform you that an appeal has been submitted and that we will contact you again when we start the appeal.
Will the LPA still receive a copy of the appeal form on an email notification?	No, the form will be included in the case on the dashboard once we have validated the appeal.
Will we get email notifications for appeal decisions like we do now?	You will receive an email to inform you that a decision has been made on the appeal and to sign into the service to view it.
Will the email notifications/letters sent to the main LPA email include the LPA reference?	Yes, the LPA reference is included in some of the emails, and we are currently expanding this to all emails.
Will a start date letter still be provided confirming validation of appeal and setting out deadlines?	An email will be sent when the appeal has been started which will inform you of the procedure and timetable of the appeal.
Once we've uploaded a questionnaire or statement, do we still get an automated email confirming this?	Yes, you will receive an email confirming that we have received your submission and what happens next.
Could copies of letters for allocated cases be also issued centrally to the LPA (e.g. if an officer is on leave)?	All emails that are sent to the main LPA email address that we hold.
Will the system automatically send the questionnaire to the appellant?	Once we have reviewed the questionnaire, we will automatically publish it on the appellant dashboard

Document Sharing & Submission

Question	Answer
Is it still necessary to forward our submission to the appellant/agent, or will they have direct access to view it?	You no longer have to send the information, however we have seen evidence of some agents stating “the law says you need to send it to me”. We provide this function, but there is a delay to allow us to validate the questionnaire.
Will we still have to send agents and appellants copies of all the documents we upload?	You no longer have to send the information, however we have seen evidence of some Agents stating “the law says you need to send it to me”. We provide this function, but there is a delay to allow us to validate the questionnaire.
Will the appellant send the appeal form and statement to the LPA or will we access these from the portal?	You will be able to access these from the dashboard once we have validated the appeal.
Will appellants get a notification and log in to see our documents as we will be able to see theirs, to prevent the need for us to send copies of our documents separately?	Yes, once they have been validated by us.
Will the system allow us to view all appellant submissions, such as appeal forms and grounds of appeal/appellant statements, without needing to request them directly from the appellant?	The appellant's appeal form and supporting documents will be available on the LPA's dashboard after the Inspectorate has confirmed that the appeal is valid.
If the appellant is also using this system, does it mean they no longer need to provide appeal details and documentation to the local authority as well as the inspector?	The appellant is still required to send the LPA a copy of their appeal form and supporting documents. Once the Inspectorate have checked any documents received, they will be available on the LPA's service.
Does this mean that the LPA needs to download all documents from the new system, and you/appellant won't be sending them to LPA?	We will be sending emails updating LPAs when the appeal has progressed to the next stage and when documentation is available to view on the new system. We will not send documents by email.
Will the LPA have to upload the appeal documentation to their own systems or will residents rely instead on the public access capability of the new appeals service?	The obligation for the LPA to host this information is still in effect.
Can we download the appeal form and appellants statement of case from dashboard as a PDF?	Yes, these can be downloaded as a PDF.
You mentioned you can view appellant docs on the portal?	The appeal form and supporting appellant documentation can be viewed from the LPA dashboard.

Document Upload & File Handling

Question	Answer
Has the data limit for uploading files been increased?	Yes, it has been increased based on user feedback.
Has the email size limit also increased?	We have designed the system to primarily not use email, in future no documents will be accepted by email, instead being uploaded through the service.
If there is a document over the 25Mb limit how can this be submitted?	We are increasing the document upload limit to 1GB.
Can the system allow Excel docs to be uploaded please (BNG docs are problematic)?	Excel document upload is coming soon.
What about video evidence? Will that be able to be sent?	The Planning Inspectorate is unable to accept video evidence.

Questionnaire & Statement Submission

Question	Answer
Can you not just attach your appeal statement?	After the text entry box, there is a further page where you are able to upload documents, so your statement can be uploaded there, however we prefer text due to the government's preference for data not documents.
Why is there a free text box for the statement when it can be uploaded as a Word document? Can you bypass that box?	We prefer text due to the government's preference for data not documents, but in some circumstances can accept documents.
Can statements be ‘drag and dropped' in using a Word template, or PDF? A free text field would not account for formatting or layout, presumably?	Yes they can. There is a further page where you are able to upload documents.
For the SoC is there a character limit on the open text box?	Yes, the character limit is 32,500
Can you upload the statement as a document? Or does it need to be typed direct into the system?	Yes, they can. There is a further page where you can upload documents.
Will questionnaire questions/mapping be circulated? It helps if our technical officers have an idea of what is going to be asked in order to prepare ahead of time.	The system has been designed to be intuitive and simple to use, a mapping document is not required.
Can questions be skipped on the questionnaire until a later time to go back to and later questions be answered on the questionnaire and be saved?	Yes, there is a ‘return to the questionnaire homepage' link at the bottom of the questionnaire, where you can view all of the questions and select which one you would like to answer next. Your answers are automatically saved so that you can continue working on the questionnaire at a later time.
Will you be able to save and come back to the questionnaire, if not completing in one sitting?	Yes, save and complete is available after every question.
Can you go back into a questionnaire after submission to edit/add?	Once submitted it is not possible to amend the questionnaire.
How can you upload an overdue questionnaire?	If a questionnaire has not been submitted by the due date, then it will show on the LPA's dashboard as overdue until it has been submitted, but it is still possible to upload.
Overdue questionnaire - time allowance for submission?	If a questionnaire has not been submitted by the due date, then it will show on the LPA's dashboard as overdue until it has been submitted, but it is still possible to upload.
Would you suggest that contributing officers fill in sections in the questionnaire relevant to them, with other colleagues able to do the sections relevant to them?	We have found that LPA's work in different way. This service allows multiple users to work on a questionnaire.
When a copy of the questionnaire is automatically sent to the appellant from the new system, will it automatically send all the uploaded documents as well?	Yes, after the Inspectorate have reviewed the questionnaire, the appellant will be able to view all of the documents.
Please can the questionnaire documents from the council be accessible to the appellant to download?	The appellant can download documents on the new service.

Local Policy Documents

Question	Answer
Could LPA policies be automatically added to their profile so then we could just tick relevant ones for each appeal rather than uploading each policy to each appeal?	If there is a strong need for this functionality, it will be considered as a future improvement.
Will some of the questionnaire information automatically populate - i.e. a listed building reference, a conservation which the Planning Inspectorate can harvest from the central government system rather than asking the question each time?	When a valid listed building number is entered, it generates a link to Historic England for the inspector to review. There is future work to integrate LPA systems to this service to minimise repetitive work, but it will not be available for some time.
Will LPAs need to upload every relevant local policy/document for each appeal or will previously provided policies/documents be held by the Inspectorate?	The LPA will still need to upload the relevant policies for each appeal. If there is a strong need for this functionality, it will be considered as a future improvement.
Why do we have to continue to submit PDF versions of the Local Plan for each appeal when it is available online?	This service is still being developed, If there is a strong need for this functionality, it will be considered as a future improvement.
Are we still required to upload all policies each time?	The LPA will still need to upload the relevant policies for each appeal. If there is a strong need for this functionality, it will be considered as a future improvement.
As part of future work stream will you be able to use spatial data to confirm whether the appeal is in a conservation area, listed building or Green Belt rather than having to upload this information each time?	This is being considered as part of future improvements.

Search & Dashboard Functionality

Question	Answer
Can you filter and search for specific appeals on the dashboard?	Not currently but we will be implementing search and filtering options in the future.
Will the search function enable us to search for appeals depending on what stage they are at? For example, if we wanted to search for everything that was waiting for a Statement of Case, or everything with a Hearing deadline approaching?	Not currently but we will be implementing the search and filtering options in the future
Are you improving the search system on your site for appeals so that one authority can view another's appeal decision and statement of case? And if so would you be adding a subject field so you can search by different types of development?	Currently we are limited to reference and postcode search but we will be improving that functionality in the future.
Will you be able to search decided appeals for any council?	You can search for any decided appeals in England at Comment on a planning appeal - GOV.UK
Can the appeal decision search be filtered by date range / appeal type?	Currently we are limited to reference and postcode search but we will be improving that functionality in the future.
Will the appeal number listed simply replace the current format (example: APP/B3030/W/12/1234567)?	Yes, the new appeal reference number will just be 7 digits.
How far back will previous decisions be available?	Our retention policies allow us to keep decisions for 5 years due to GDPR. Some decisions are kept around for longer due to moratoriums on deletion of data.
What time range will it be for the decided appeals part?	As above
How far back will the appeal decisions go when this goes live?	As above

Public Access & Visibility

Question	Answer
What can members of the public see?	Decision outcome, link to decision, appeal ref, type, procedure, site, applicant, LPA and application number
What information can the general public see - GDPR?	As above
Will appeal information on the portal be available for third parties to view?	As above
Will third party reps on the appeal be displayed on the Inspectorate website?	They will be available on the LPA's service after we have reviewed and published them.
Does this mean that the Inspectorate would be hosting a publicly accessible appeal documents Library?	No, we will only be making the decision letter available after the appeal has been decided.
Will the public have similar access to appellant appeal docs and all parties statements, etc.?	No, they will only be able to view the appeal decision document
Will the Inspectorate be publishing the appeal decision notices on their website and will these be visible to the public?	A user can search for an appeal by searching by appeal reference number or postcode on GOV.UK, and if a decision has been made then it will be published.
Will we go to the portal to pick up 3rd party reps etc or will these be emailed to us still?	They will be available on the LPA's service after we have reviewed and published them. We will not be emailing them.
Are there any changes proposed to the public facing side of the website?	It will be accessed via Comment on a planning appeal - GOV.UK. They will not be able to view any of the appeal documents other than the appeal decision.
Will LPAs have to change their neighbour notification templates e.g provide a different web address to view the appeal paperwork?	Yes, a new URL will need to be added. The link to view appeals on the new service is https://appeal-planning-decision.service.gov.uk/comment-planning-appeal/enter-appeal-reference

Appeal Types & Future Development

Question	Answer
Are costs appeals also included in this service?	This is on our delivery roadmap, currently the costs process will continue to be managed by email for now.
When will tree appeals be going live?	We will be adding environmental appeals, including Tree Preservation Orders, after we have finished replacing the current Appeals Casework Portal functionality.
What about linked appeals enforcement and s78?	We will be introducing enforcement appeals later this financial year.
Will this service include appeals to the Planning Inspectorate under Sch14 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981?	This is being looked at by a different service so we are unable to give an exact timescale, but it is being worked on.
Once all types of appeals are live on the new system will these be within the one list or will separate types of appeals be on separate lists?	You can view all cases in a list, and we plan to introduce search and filter functions to allow you to retrieve cases more easily.
Can comments on other party's statement be done through this service?	Yes, final comments and statements can be submitted on this service.
Will the system require a legal agreement to be submitted as an option?	Current document sharing agreements are applicable to the new service.
Will contributors also be using the new portal to submit comments? Will new ‘template letters' be provided with the link etc as previously?	The service allows users to search for and comment on an appeal.

LPA-Specific Considerations

Question	Answer
Will there be a way to differentiate between area teams, LPA's undergoing unitary transformation where multiple districts form a new council still currently using different back office systems?	When LPAs merge we will be updating the service to reflect the new arrangement.
If appeal to lodge are posted to the incorrect area how easy is it to post it over to the correct area rather than forwarding emails?	If the incorrect LPA has been provided, we are able to amend this.
We have been part of the pilot scheme and have found a few appeals have been validated and auto started only to find that the forms were wrong or it needs to be invalidated, can we be sent the forms at the point of validation before the 5 day deadline?	We are unable to share the forms before they have been validated for GDPR reasons. If there are errors in the validated appeal, we will adjust the timeline to compensate for the time required to address the issue.
In the decisions dashboard - it showed that an invalid appeal had been decided. Does this mean that it just remained on the system?	Yes, an invalid appeal will remain within the list of appeals for information purposes.
How do we obtain the form up until we migrate to new system?	Until we migrate an appeal type to the new service, you will continue to use the existing system, Appeals Casework Portal (ACP) to manage cases. Once the new appeal type goes live, then any new appeals for that type will be managed in the new service.

General Event & Resources Questions

Question	Answer
Will “how to guides” be issued electronically?	The system has been designed to be intuitive using gov.uk design patterns, and we have prepared some video tutorials which you can watch online.
Can we see appeal documents at initial stage of appeal, statement?	They will be available after the Inspectorate has reviewed the appeal and decided that it was valid
If one party in an appeal submits their document very quickly and the other party notified at that point, does the other party effectively have a greater period?	Irrespective of how quickly an appellant submits their appeal, the LPA will still be given 5 working days from the start of the case to submit their questionnaire. For S78 cases, deadlines for statements and IP comments are automatically set to 5 weeks after the start date (accounting for any bank holidays) and Final comments are set to 7 weeks after the start date. Any changes to this timetable are subject to case officer discretion. All main parties will be automatically notified of any changes.
How will the availability of the portal impact upon deadlines? If the site is down, will there be an alternative for submission of a statement of case, for example?	The system has been designed to be fully redundant, in the unlikely event of a service outage, we will be able to accommodate any late appeals as we do currently.
Are there any plans to start to charge appellants for the appeals service?	Currently there are no plans to charge appellants for submitting an appeal.