Insights and analysis for UK planning professionals: written for consultants, LPA officers, barristers, architects, and developers. Articles cover policy changes, procedural reforms, costs awards, and how to use inspector reasoning and outcome data to build stronger cases.
Analysis of planning policy changes, appeal trends, and regulatory updates affecting the development industry.
Searching your LPA portal alone creates an informational echo chamber. Here's how integrating appeal intelligence builds a stronger, more authoritative planning case.
The new PINS rules apply based on when your application was submitted to the LPA — not when you received your refusal or filed your appeal. Here's what that means in practice.
From February 2026, PINS has widened what counts as unreasonable behaviour. With the 'Submit Once' model, a misleading claim carries real financial consequences.
In planning, 'trust me' is not a valid citation. With the 2026 PINS changes, the ability to trace and verify every argument has never been more important.
From 1 April 2026, your planning submission must do all the heavy lifting. Here's how targeted planning intelligence — and correct policy interpretation — can sharpen your argument from the start.
The 2026 PINS guidance shifts the entire burden of defence onto the Officer's Report and Committee Minutes. Transparency is now a financial necessity.
After 1 April 2026, you can no longer 'top up' evidence at appeal. If it wasn't in the original application, the Inspector must disregard it.
From 1 April 2026, the Statement of Case is gone. Your initial planning submission must carry the full weight of your appeal argument from day one.
The Planning Inspectorate updated its AI guidance in February 2026. Here is what it says, what it means in practice, and how planningappeals.co.uk is built to align with it.