You can make a formal complaint to the Planning Service, but please read the below examples of common complaints in case you find the answers you need, or a better route to raise your concerns. 

Appeal a decision on your planning application

We cannot address your complaint using our formal complaints procedure, if all or part of your complaint:

• is related to a planning appeal process already in place
• should be raised to the Planning Inspectorate as an appeal on a decision

You can find out how to appeal a planning decision or notice on GOV.UK. 

Complain about a planning application

Only an applicant can appeal a planning decision. Neighbours and other third parties do not have a right to appeal.

You can challenge the decision through Judicial Review. We recommend that you obtain your own legal advice on this. This is time limited to 6 weeks from the date of decision.

If the application is currently open for comments, we will not treat any objections to it as a formal complaint. This is because you can submit a comment on the application while the notice is live, and the case officer will review your comments before making a decision on the application. 

You can search and comment on current planning applications.

When you search and comment, you will need to:

• accept the Disclaimer, Copyright, Personal Data terms and conditions
• search for the address or application number, and any other search options you want to use
• click on the application
• look at whether a decision has already been made or not
• if the application is still open for comments, click on the "comment on this application" button
• if the application is not open for comments because the notification has closed, you will not see the "comment on this application" button

You can submit more than one comment or objection to an application, but the quantity of comments you submit will not change the outcome of the Council's decision.

Case officers manage large amounts of planning applications and cannot talk to individual people by phone or email about their complaints or opinions on an application. You must add a comment to the planning application while it is open to comments, using the link above.

If your comment has been addressed in the officer report or decision notice, you will not be able to lodge a formal complaint because you have a different opinion to the Council's decision.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman will not investigate a complaint because you do not agree with the planning decision. They have no power to change the decision.

No notice of a planning application

We must publicise planning applications we get. Before making a complaint that we have not publicised an application, check the different places we may have publicised it. We may publicise these applications in different ways depending on the type of application.

Site notices are placed on or near the application site for not less than 21 days.

We will post the following types of applications in the local press (newspapers):

• Environmental Impact Assessment applications accompanied by an Environmental Statement.
• applications that are a Departure from the Development Plan
• applications affecting a public right of way
• applications for “major” development
• applications for Listed Building Consent
• applications for planning permission for works affecting a Listed Building or its setting
• applications for planning permission affecting the character or appearance of a Conservation Area.
• Prior Notifications for Telecommunications

We also post details of all applications on our website, where you can search and comment on them.

Ask for a planning application to be determined by the Planning Committee

Elected councillors can ask for an application to be determined by the Planning Committee, according to the process in our Constitution. Members of the public can't make this request.

Land ownership and boundary disputes

Anyone can submit a planning application for any land provided they serve Notice on the landowner. They must also submit a Certificate proving that Notice has been served on any land owner to the Local Planning Authority.

Where the ownership of land is not known, applicants place adverts in the local newspaper.

Disputes over land ownership and deeds of covenant are not a planning consideration and so related complaints will not be investigated by the planning department. 

Boundary disputes are also not a planning consideration - find out more information about boundary disputes in the government's guide to The Party Wall etc Act 1996.

Developments that are not built according to conditions and plans

If you believe a development has not been built according to the approved plan, or a developer has not met a condition of a permission, you can report a planning breach.

Councillor involvement in the planning process

You can make a complaint about a councillor if you are unhappy about their involvement in a planning process.

If your complaint is not covered by the above advice

If you are unhappy with how a planning application was handled or determined, you can use our complaints and feedback form. Our team will aim to respond to you within 20 working days. 

Further information about formal complaints includes how your complaint will be handled and the next steps.

Our response if a fault is found

If there has been fault, an assessment is made as to whether there has been injustice.

This means that we will review whether a different decision would have been made if there had been no fault. We would check whether a different outcome would have occurred.

If a fault is found, we might:

• write a written apology
• review systems, procedures and policy
• retrain staff

Once we have made a formal decision on a planning proposal, there are limits to what can be changed or overturned. There are some routes to reverse a decision, but these are rarely used due to the complexities involved.