How to object to a planning application

Every application must be published on the council's website. Depending on the kind of application, the council also puts up a site notice, writes to adjoining owners and occupiers, or advertises in a local newspaper ⁵:

Letters only have to go to adjoining neighbours, so don't rely on getting one ⁵. Councils aim to decide most applications within 8 weeks and major ones within 13 ⁶.

The council must take into account comments made within 21 days of the site notice or neighbour letter, 14 days of a newspaper or website notice, or 30 days for applications with an environmental statement ². It can consider later comments, but doesn't have to, so comment early ².

Only material planning considerations count. Purely private interests, such as the effect on the value of a neighbouring property or the loss of private rights to light, are not material ³. Local opposition on its own isn't a reason to refuse; it has to rest on valid planning reasons ³.

Points that commonly are material include:

• conflict with the Local Plan or national policy;
• road safety, traffic and access;
• flood risk and drainage;
• the effect on neighbours' living conditions, such as overlooking, loss of light or noise;
• design, scale and the character of the area;
• effects on heritage, wildlife and trees.

One letter that sets out specific planning points clearly, with evidence, does more than many letters that only say no. The number of objections doesn't decide whether an application goes to a planning committee either ⁷.

Since 31 October 2026, a national scheme sets who decides ⁸. Officers must decide householder applications and minor ones, including schemes of 1 to 9 homes ⁸. Larger applications, including 10 or more homes, go to the planning committee only if the council's nominated officer and nominated member agree they raise issues of economic, social or environmental significance to the area, or significant planning matters; otherwise officers decide ⁸.

Councils can no longer send an application to committee because it has received a set number of objections, and councillors can no longer call applications in ⁷. Whether the public can speak at a committee meeting depends on the council's own rules ¹.

• Only the applicant can appeal. Neighbours can't appeal against a permission ⁴.
• For applications made on or after 1 April 2026, most appeals against refusal follow a written procedure where interested people can't comment at the appeal stage; their comments on the application are passed to the inspector instead ⁴.
• Where an appeal goes to a hearing or inquiry, or is against a council's failure to decide, interested people can comment within five weeks of the appeal starting ⁴.
• A legal challenge to a council's decision, by judicial review, must be filed within six weeks ⁹. It tests whether the decision was made lawfully, not whether it was the right planning judgement.