New Legislation – relating to the expedited written representations appeal procedure (01/04/2026) …

The following 1 new Statutory Instrument (SI) comes into force on 01/04/2026:

New Legislation:

  • April 2026: SI 2026 No. 122 - The Town and Country Planning (Appeals) (Written Representations Procedure) (England) (Amendment and Saving Provision) Regulations 2026 (pdf) (link).

Notes:

  • The above SI 2026 No. 122 makes amendments to the following SIs:
    - DMPO 2015.
    - The Town and Country Planning (Appeals) (Written Representations Procedure) (England) Regulations 2009.
  • The "Explanatory Note" (link) at the end of the above SI 2026 No. 122 includes the following information:
    - "These Regulations [SI 2026 No. 122] amend the Town and Country Planning (Appeals) (Written Representations Procedure) (England) Regulations 2009 ("the 2009 Regulations") and the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order 2015 ("the 2015 Order").".
    - "The amendments [made by SI 2026 No. 122] expand the scope of the expedited written representations appeals procedure in Part 1 of the 2009 Regulations. This procedure will now be used to determine the majority of appeals made under section 78(1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ("the 1990 Act"). The Secretary of State may, where appropriate, transfer an appeal from the Part 1 procedure and deal with it under the procedure set out in Part 2 of the 2009 Regulations. Amendments to the 2015 Order are required for the expansion of the expedited written representations appeals procedure. They update the list of documents required to be lodged with planning appeals made under section 78(1) of the 1990 Act.".
  • Note: The "Explanatory Memorandum" (link) to the above SI 2026 No. 122 includes the following information:
    - "These Regulations [SI 2026 No. 122] provide for all appeals submitted under section 78(1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 ("the 1990 Act") in relation to a decision on a planning application to be determined through the expedited written representations planning appeal procedure. The expedited written representations appeal procedure currently only applies to certain section 78(1) appeals, namely those against the refusal of householder development, advertisement consent and some minor commercial development. These Regulations [SI 2026 No. 122] also clarify that under the expedited appeal procedure no new material can be submitted by appellants when they appeal. The Regulations [SI 2026 No. 122] also replace some existing statutory notices with updated notices, to reflect the changes.".
    - "The changes introduced by these Regulations will apply to appeals submitted under section 78(1) of the 1990 Act in relation to planning applications made on or after 1 April 2026. They also apply to appeals submitted under section 78(1) of the 1990 Act as modified by regulations made under section 220 of the 1990 Act in relation to applications for advertisement consent which are determined on or after the 1 April 2026.".

Other Sources of Information:

  • March 2024: An accelerated planning system - consultation (link) (pdf print version of HTML webpage).
    - Note: For more information about the above document, please view this post.
  • February 2026: "Explanatory Memorandum" to SI 2026 No. 122 (pdf) (link).

Updates to the Planning Jungle website: