Planning Permission Rejected – Advice Needed on Next Steps (Appeal or Resubmit?)

Goldenleaf

Hi all,

Hoping someone here can offer some advice or share their experience. Our planning application was recently rejected, and we’re unsure about the best next step — whether to appeal or resubmit.

The deadline for the decision was 29th April 2025. We met all the usual requirements except for one objection raised under Drainage, due to a recent update in the Environment Agency’s surface water flooding data (updated in March 2025). Our site is now shown within flood zones 3a and 3b (medium/high risk).

The planners said our Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) was no longer sufficient and requested a revised, more technical version - but we only received that request on 25th April, just two working days before the deadline. No prior notice was given about the data change, and our architect was surprised this technical detail is requested during planning permission stage.

Instead of granting a short extension to allow us to provide the updated FRA, they rejected the application outright on the 29th. We feel this was unfair, especially given how last-minute the request was.

We’re really keen to move forward with the project (we’re renting and under financial pressure to start soon). So now we're stuck between two options:

• Appeal the decision, on the grounds that we weren’t given a fair chance to respond to the updated requirements.
• Resubmit the application, this time with a revised FRA addressing the new flood data.

We’re keen to get the project moving quickly (we’re renting and under financial pressure), so timing is a big factor. I know the official site says appeals can take up to 6 months, but is there any way to speed up the appeal process? Or would a fresh submission realistically be quicker?

Any insight or advice would be hugely appreciated!

anselld

A fresh submission would definitely be quicker.  There is no way to accelerate an appeal as far as I know and it can easily take longer than six months.

Section62

Goldenleaf said:

Hi all,

Hoping someone here can offer some advice or share their experience. Our planning application was recently rejected, and we’re unsure about the best next step — whether to appeal or resubmit.

The deadline for the decision was 29th April 2025. We met all the usual requirements except for one objection raised under Drainage, due to a recent update in the Environment Agency’s surface water flooding data (updated in March 2025). Our site is now shown within flood zones 3a and 3b (medium/high risk).

The planners said our Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) was no longer sufficient and requested a revised, more technical version - but we only received that request on 25th April, just two working days before the deadline. No prior notice was given about the data change, and our architect was surprised this technical detail is requested during planning permission stage.

Instead of granting a short extension to allow us to provide the updated FRA, they rejected the application outright on the 29th. We feel this was unfair, especially given how last-minute the request was.

We’re really keen to move forward with the project (we’re renting and under financial pressure to start soon). So now we're stuck between two options:

• Appeal the decision, on the grounds that we weren’t given a fair chance to respond to the updated requirements.
• Resubmit the application, this time with a revised FRA addressing the new flood data.

We’re keen to get the project moving quickly (we’re renting and under financial pressure), so timing is a big factor. I know the official site says appeals can take up to 6 months, but is there any way to speed up the appeal process? Or would a fresh submission realistically be quicker?

Any insight or advice would be hugely appreciated!

Can you clarify whether the application was "rejected" or "refused"?  Refused means they have considered the application and refused to give consent.  Rejected suggests the application was defective and no decision was made.

Did the application pass the council's 'validation' at the start of the process?  What was the validation date?

In normal circumstances the 'deadline' for making a decision is flexible - there's no fundamental reason why they had to issue a decision on 29/04, especially not if you were asking for a delay to comply with their request.  Is it possible the planning office got the wrong end of the stick and thought you were refusing point blank to provide the extra information they wanted?

If they have issued a refusal then I'd probably be minded to go to appeal.  But you'll likely need to get the updated FRA anyway.

Subject to clarifying some of the details you might want to make a complaint about the way the planning officer has handled the case - I've been away from the environment for a while now so the rules might be different, but refusing an application after asking for additional new information so close to the 'deadline' doesn't sound like the constructive approach planning authorities are supposed to take.

RandomTourist

Not sure that this is relevant now. But long ago I had a planning application refused. Our surveyor was very sure that we would win on appeal, and pointed out the increased cost to the local authority if they fought the appeal and lost. So he advised resubmitting the application and appealing at the same time. The authority gave in and allowed the resubmitted application.

Section62

RandomTourist said:

Not sure that this is relevant now. But long ago I had a planning application refused. Our surveyor was very sure that we would win on appeal, and pointed out the increased cost to the local authority if they fought the appeal and lost. So he advised resubmitting the application and appealing at the same time. The authority gave in and allowed the resubmitted application.

In parts of the country it used to be almost standard practice for developers in a hurry to submit two identical applications at the start.  If the council didn't make a decision within the time allowed then the developer would appeal the application on grounds of non-determination, whilst continuing to negotiate with the council on the other.  We did everything by the book of course, but knowing that one application would certainly get appealed if the developer didn't get the answer they wanted on time was something which focussed minds.

AFAIK it is still possible to have a second application in the works, but the way planning fees have increased generally I don't know if this is something still done as a matter of routine.