It is generally possible to gain the costs of undertaking an Appeal from the local Planning Authority causing the Appeal. The cost regime now applies to all forms of Planning Appeal namely Written Representations, Hearings and Planning Appeals. Costs applications need to be made at the appropriate stage. It is best to make them in writing prior to the Appeal proceedings and costs awards to follow guidance in Government Circular 3 of 2009.
In any Appeal proceedings other parties to the appeal can apply for costs ie the Appellant and local Planning Authority and, in certain circumstances, some third parties who have requested ‘third party status’ in the Planning Appeal.
Costs must be directly, and only, related to the Appeal process itself and its conduct. They are not meant as damages or as a penalty, and this doctrine is used sparingly and only when local Planning Authorities or others have caused any party in the Appeal process to waste expenditure unnecessarily; proof must be available of the quantum of this wasted expenditure. viiwye.com has been very successful in recovering costs in Appeal proceedings.