An Uncomfortable Truth: The Cost of Appeals

by
Councillor Oliver Patrick
Liberal Democrat Councillor and Vice Chair of Planning Committee South, Somerset Council

We need to talk about planning appeals.

For most people, they are a distant, bureaucratic process - the sort of thing that happens quietly in council offices or committee rooms. But behind the closed doors of planning inquiries lies an uncomfortable truth: appeals cost councils, and taxpayers, eye-watering sums of money. And too often, those costs are the direct result of political decisions that were never likely to stand up to scrutiny.

The Price We All Pay

When a planning decision is appealed, it triggers an expensive chain reaction. Legal teams are hired. Consultants are brought in. Expert witnesses are booked. Council officers spend weeks preparing evidence and writing statements. If the case goes to a public inquiry, you can add days - sometimes weeks - of hearings to the bill.

Lose the appeal, and you risk an even bigger blow: a costs award against the council. That means the public not only pays its own legal bill but also covers the developer’s costs. We are talking tens, sometimes hundreds, of thousands of pounds.

This is not monopoly money. It is the same budget that pays for filling potholes, funding care homes, keeping libraries open, or building affordable housing.

A Real World Example

In one recent case (not in Somerset), I was told about a developer proposing an 80-home scheme that included 10% affordable housing which was less than the Local Plan policies demanded but necessary due to viability issues.

The local planning committee refused the application because 10% affordable housing wasn’t enough according to the Local Plan. The decision was appealed, and the Planning Inspector overturned the refusal…

Crucially, the Inspector accepted the developer’s viability argument and - what’s more - by the time of the appeal, viability had worsened such that the scheme could not support any affordable housing provision at all! As a result, the development was approved with zero affordable homes - leaving the community in a worse position than if the original application had been granted in the first place.

Why Councils Keep Losing

It is no mystery why councils lose appeals.

Some Councillors bow to political pressure and refuse planning applications that are unpopular locally, even when their own planning officers warn that refusal is risky. Others go into battle with outdated Local Plans that carry little weight against national policy. Occasionally, decisions are made without the robust evidence needed to defend them - meaning that planning officers are unable to defend an appeal at all.

And here is the bitter irony: by giving in to the temptation to “stand with residents” in the short term, councils can end up hitting those same residents in the pocket when the appeal is lost.

The Politics of Planning

I have sat in those committee rooms. I know the tension between professional advice and public opinion. I understand the fear of headlines accusing councillors of “rubber-stamping” developments.

But here’s the truth we need to say out loud: refusing an application just to avoid short-term political pain is not leadership. It is theatre - and it is expensive theatre at that.

A planning committee is not a court of public opinion. It is a decision-making body bound by law and policy. Planning committee members - Councillors - are there to make decisions on planning grounds, not to score points with voters. When they ignore this, it is not just bad governance - it is bad for the public purse.

Time to Change the Game

We need to stop treating appeals as unfortunate accidents and start treating them as avoidable costs. That means:

• Backing officers’ professional advice, even when it is politically awkward.

• Being honest with residents about the limits of planning law.

• Picking battles we can actually win.

This is not about rolling over for developers. It is about using public money wisely and recognising that sometimes the smartest move is not to fight but to work with developers to deliver for your community.

A Call for Honesty

If we are serious about protecting the services people rely on, we have to be straight with them about the trade-offs. Saying “no” to a planning application might feel good in the moment, but if it leads to an expensive appeal loss, the bill lands right back on the community’s doorstep.

We can have strong, sustainable planning - but only if we accept that decisions must be rooted in policy, evidence, and the long-term public interest. That means resisting the temptation to use planning committees as political soapboxes.

The uncomfortable truth is that appeals are not just a planning issue. They are a financial one. And every unnecessary pound we spend defending an indefensible decision is a pound we are not spending on the things our communities actually need.

That is a truth worth saying - even if it is uncomfortable.