News story

The Appeal a Planning Decision Service expands to include Section 78 casework

Five Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) now piloting expanded service with nationwide rollout planned from June 2025

We have expanded our pilot of the service to include Section 78 casework, marking a significant milestone in our organisation鈥檚 digital transformation programme.聽

Successful pilot expansion聽

Following the successful implementation of the Householder Appeals Service (HAS) with five pilot LPAs, the Appeal a Planning Decision Service is now being used to handle Section 78 appeals. This expansion represents the next phase in modernising and future-proofing our online appeal services.聽

Tom Warth, Head of Planning and Environmental Appeals Service at the Planning Inspectorate, said:聽

鈥淭he feedback and collaboration from our pilot LPAs has been invaluable in developing a system that truly meets user needs. This expansion to include Section 78 appeals demonstrates our commitment to creating a more efficient, accessible and user-friendly appeals process for all stakeholders.鈥澛�

The five LPAs participating in the pilot are:聽

  • London Borough of Barnet聽
  • Royal Borough of Greenwich聽
  • London Borough of Havering聽
  • London Borough of Richmond upon Thames聽
  • London Borough of Bromley聽

National rollout from June 2025聽

We are pleased to announce that following the pilot phase, the LPA casework portal will begin rolling out to all authorities across England from June 2025. The rollout will be conducted in tranches to ensure a smooth transition and appropriate support for each authority.聽

Benefits of the new appeals service聽

The expanded digital service offers numerous benefits including:聽

  • Streamlined submission and management of appeals聽
  • Improved tracking and monitoring capabilities聽
  • Enhanced communication between all parties聽
  • Reduced paper-based processes聽
  • More efficient handling of casework聽

Preparing for the transition聽

We encourage LPAs to begin considering how this transition might affect their internal processes. Guidance and support will be provided throughout the implementation period.聽

Further information聽

LPAs can find preview videos of the dashboard functionality via our , including:聽

  • An overview of features and functionality聽
  • Guidance on dashboard access and user management聽
  • Step-by-step instructions for completing appeal questionnaires聽

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Updates to this page

Published 27 March 2025