Appealing against planning decisions
The Local Review Body (LRB) is a committee of the Council whose purpose is essentially to review decisions made by an appointed officer, in terms of the Council’s Scheme of Delegation, where the officer has either:-
(a) Refused an application for planning permission, consent, agreement or approval; or
(b) Approved an application for planning permission, consent, agreement or approval subject to condition(s).
In respect of (a) and (b) above, the request to review the decision must be received by LRB, on their official form and within a period of 3 months from the date of refusal/approval. Applications received outwith this period will be rejected as invalid. Information on where you can obtain an application form is contained within the section headed “Submitting a Notice of Review Request”.
An applicant may also seek a review by the LRB in respect of a deemed refusal i.e. whereby the appointed officer has failed to give the applicant their decision within a period of two months after the validation date (four months if the development requires an environmental impact assessment).
Submitting a Notice of Review Request
The applicant (or their appointed agent) may request a review by submitting to the LRB a Notice of Review (NoR) (which must be submitted using the official form).
If the original application was submitted using:
- The Scottish Government ePlanning system, the NoR form can be completed on line at: www.eplanning.scot
- Made directly to Argyll and Bute Council, the NoR form can be downloaded along with the Guidance Notes
Alternatively you may request the Notice of Review form by:
by email: localreviewprocess@argyll-bute.gov.uk
by telephone: 01546 604392
or writing to: Committee Services, Argyll and Bute Council, Kilmory, Lochgilphead, PA31 8RT
All sections within the Notice of Review Form must be completed for the form to be validated. It should be noted that although the applicant is asked to indicate their preferred option for determining the review, the final decision as to how the review will be conducted is made by the LRB.
It is important that the applicant states, in full, their reason(s) for seeking a review within the Notice of Review form. You should also submit all of the documentation that supports your reason(s) for seeking the review as you may not be afforded further opportunity to do so. It should be noted that the Review process is not an opportunity to submit further information that was not before the appointed officer at the time the application was determined. The LRB have a discretion to accept new evidence but only if it can be demonstrated that a matter could not have been raised before that time or that it’s not being raised before that time was a consequence of exceptional circumstances.
The information you supply on these forms will be used for the purpose for which you have provided it, and appropriate measures are in place to protect your personal data. A full privacy notice, which provides information about your rights under current data protection legislation and details about what will happen to your personal data can be found here:
Once the Review Request has been submitted
On receipt of a valid Notice of Review, the LRB will acknowledge the application within a period of 14 days. Once validated, the LRB will write to all “interested parties” to make them aware of the Notice of Review request. Interested parties include the Planning Authority, statutory consultees and any other party who made a representation in connection with the application which was received prior to the Appointed Officer’s decision being reached (unless the representation was subsequently withdrawn). Interested parties are entitled, with a period of 14 days of notification, to make further representation, in writing, to the LRB. Following this 14 day period, any representations received will be copied to the applicant who will have a further 14 day period to respond on the representations to the LRB.
All papers lodged in relation to a review must be made available to the public.
In cases where the Notice of Review is in terms of a deemed refusal (see introduction), a report of handling will be sought from the Planning Authority and this will be submitted to the applicant who shall have a period of 14 days to respond, in writing, to the LRB regarding the report.
Considering the Notice of Review
All meetings of the LRB will be held in public and all decisions made by the LRB will take place in public.
The LRB at any meeting will comprise 3 elected Members appointed from a rota and drawn from a pool of elected Members.
There is no automatic right for the applicant or others to make oral representations to the LRB.
Where required, the LRB will be advised by a Legal Adviser from the Council’s Governance and Law Service.
All parties to a Review will be notified in advance in writing of all meetings of the LRB at which their review is to be considered.
At the first meeting to consider a review case the LRB may determine that the review documents provide sufficient information to enable it to determine the review. In the event that the LRB decide at its first meeting that it requires further procedure before it can determine the Review, then it will consider what further procedure is required.
Accordingly the LRB may decide to seek further information by one or more of the following methods:
By means of written submissions;
By an inspection of land to which the Review relates;
By holding a hearing.
Written Submissions
Where the LRB decides that the Review should proceed by means of written submissions, a written notice (a ‘procedure note’) will be sent to the relevant parties, requesting the relevant information. To comply with deadlines for issuing papers, parties will be given 14 days to respond with written submissions.
In the event that the written submissions are not received, or are received outwith the relevant time limit, the LRB may decide to determine the Review without the information or otherwise as it deems fit.
Persons submitting written submissions will be required in terms of the procedure note to serve copies on the other parties (and at the addresses) specified in that notice.
Other parties will have a further 14 days to submit any comments on the written submissions to the LRB with a copy of such comments being sent to the applicant and to the other parties (and at the addresses) specified in the procedure note.
The LRB will consider the written submissions received at a reconvened meeting of the LRB and shall either determine the review or decide that further procedure is needed.
Site Inspections
The LRB may at any time determine that a site inspection is necessary.
A site inspection may be unaccompanied or accompanied by the Applicant/Agent and other interested parties. The Applicant and interested parties will be notified of any proposed accompanied site inspection. However, the LRB is not required to defer an inspection if any persons to whom notice was given is not present at the appointed time.
The intention to make an unaccompanied site inspection will be intimated to the Applicant/ Agent.
The purpose of the site inspection will be to inspect the site and its surroundings and the LRB may ask the Applicant/Agent and other interested parties questions at the site inspection. No discussion on the merits of the Review will take place.
The Review shall not be determined at a site visit but shall be continued to a future meeting of the LRB for determination.
Hearings
The LRB may decide at any time during the process to hold a hearing. The date for the hearing cannot be set until at least 28 days after notification of the intention to hold hearing as applicant/agent and interested parties have 14 days from date of notification to advise of their intention to attend and, if required, to submit a hearing statement and other paperwork on specified matters decided by the LRB. This hearing statement and other paperwork has to be copied to everyone invited to attend the hearing and they in turn have a further 14 days to make comments on this hearing statement etc. After a hearing is held the LRB has to reconvene to determine if any further process is required or to determine the application.
New Evidence
If, having carried out any further procedures as set out above, the LRB proposes to take into account any new evidence which is material to the Review, it will first allow the Applicant/Agent and any other relevant party an opportunity to make representations on that evidence.
Post Determination Procedures
Following determination of the Review, the LRB shall issue a Decision Notice, which will include a statement of the reasons on which the LRB based that decision.
The Decision Notice will be issued as soon as practicable following the determination of the Review and normally within 21 days to the Applicant/Agent. A copy will also issued to all interested parties.
NB All of the time periods herein are specified by the statutory instrument governing the operation of an LRB.
The Planning etc (Scotland) Act 2006 and the Town and Country Planning (Schemes of Delegation and Local Review Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2008 provide for the establishment of a Committee of the Council to be known as a “Local Review Body” (LRB).