This category is for first-hand accounts of planning applications and decisions.
If you have been involved in a planning application — as an applicant, agent, consultant, objector, councillor, or interested party — this is the place to describe what occurred.
You do not need to argue planning merits, assign blame, or reach conclusions. Simply record the experience as it unfolded.
What to include (where possible)
Please try to set out the facts in a clear, chronological way:
- Authority: Which local planning authority dealt with the application
- Application type: Full, outline, reserved matters, discharge of conditions, appeal, etc.
- Key dates: Submission, consultation, committee or delegated decision, outcome
- Decision: Approved, refused, deferred, withdrawn, or undetermined
- What stood out:
- Issues raised late in the process
- Evidence that appeared incomplete or unresolved
- Conditions or deferrals relied upon to bridge gaps
- Reasons given (or not clearly given) for the decision
What not to worry about
- You do not need legal language
- You do not need to know planning law
- You do not need to decide whether anything was lawful or unlawful
Plain description is enough.
Why this matters
Planning experiences often feel isolated, confusing, or difficult to interpret at the time they occur.
By setting out what happened in a clear, factual way, your post can:
- Help others recognize similar patterns in their own cases
- Reveal whether the issues you encountered are isolated or recurrent
- Create a structured record that can be revisited with clearer perspective
Where appropriate, follow-up discussion can help identify where the process broke down, what was actually relied upon at the point of decision, and why an outcome may not have been inevitable — even where it initially appeared so.
You are not expected to reach conclusions. The aim is to make the sequence of events visible, so it can be properly understood.
Confidentiality
Please do not post personal contact details or information you are not entitled to share. Where appropriate, anonymize individuals while keeping the substance of events clear.