Plan WestArchitects and planning consultants, West Country

Plan West

A planning notice has arrived

A notice on a lamp post or a letter through the door means someone nearby has applied for planning permission and the council wants to hear from neighbours. Here's how to see the plans, when to comment, and what the council can and can't weigh up.

The deadline

  • The notice or letter gives the deadline for comments. It must be at least 21 days, or 14 days where the notice is in a newspaper1.
  • The council can't decide the application before that period ends1.
  • Councils may take later comments into account, but don't have to1. Comment before the deadline to be sure.
  • Anyone can comment, not only the neighbours who were written to1.
  • For an application that isn't major development, the council puts up a site notice or writes to neighbours. Applications affecting a listed building or the character of a conservation area get a site notice1.

Comment now, not at appeal

If the applicant appeals and the appeal follows the Planning Inspectorate's "part 1" written procedure, neighbours can't send new comments at the appeal stage. Comments made on the application are passed to the Inspector2. Most appeals on applications made on or after 1 April 2026 follow that procedure2.

Find the application on your council's website

Use the reference number on the notice or letter, or search by address. Pick your council:

Wiltshire Council

Planning and Building Control Public Register

  • Find the application on the public register and use the 'comment on this application' link on its details page.3
  • Once the consultation date has passed the online link closes. You can still email or post comments, but the council can't guarantee late comments will be accepted.3
  • By email or post, include the application reference, your name and postal address. Anonymous comments, or ones without an address, can't be considered.3
  • All comments are published on the council's website.3

The council's guide to commenting

Somerset Council

View and comment on a planning application

  • Somerset is now one council, but planning searches still differ by former district: Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, and South Somerset.4
  • Choose the district on the council's page, or enter a postcode to find it.4

Bath and North East Somerset Council

View and comment on current planning applications

  • The public consultation normally lasts 21 days.5
  • The number of supporters or objectors does not decide whether the development goes ahead.5
  • Anonymous comments aren't accepted. Your name appears with your comment; the council aims to remove email addresses and phone numbers.5
  • You can also comment through your ward councillor or parish council.5

Swindon Borough Council

View or comment on a planning application

  • Search the Public Access system by reference number, address or map.6
  • To comment you must register and give your contact details. The council removes your email address from what it publishes.6
  • Plans and drawings are copyright: you may download or print them only for personal consultation.6

North Somerset Council

Search for a planning application

  • Planning search finds applications by address or reference number, and the weekly and monthly lists show new applications near you.7
  • Find the application, then use 'Make a Comment' under its 'Comments' tab. The closing date is shown as the 'expiry date'.8
  • Comments are accepted through the website or by post. Comments sent any other way, including email, without prior agreement aren't taken into account.8
  • Late comments are taken into account if they arrive at least two working days before the decision.8
  • Online comments appear straight away, so don't include anything you don't want made public.8

The council's guide to commenting

Not sure which council covers you? The council named on the notice or letter is the one deciding the application.

What the council can take into account

Councils decide applications in line with their development plan unless "material considerations" point the other way9. A material planning consideration is one that is relevant to the decision9. The government's guidance says planning is about land use in the public interest, so purely private interests, such as the effect on a neighbouring property's value or the loss of private rights to light, could not be material considerations9.

Wiltshire Council's own lists are a useful example3:

It considers things such as

  • planning policies, including any neighbourhood plan
  • government guidance and policy
  • previous decisions, particularly appeals
  • comments from consultees
  • amenity, for example privacy, sunlight, daylight, noise and smell
  • highway safety
  • nature, archaeology, conservation and landscape
  • the effect on neighbouring land uses
  • design

It does not consider things such as

  • loss of value
  • loss of view
  • party walls and structures
  • private rights of access
  • restrictive covenants
  • land ownership
  • competition
  • moral issues

North Somerset Council gives similar examples of planning issues: the effect on a neighbour's daylight, sunlight or privacy; traffic, access and parking; and the appearance, bulk or height of the building8. Each council weighs comments against its own policies.

Building work on a shared wall or near a neighbour's foundations is covered by separate party wall rules, not planning. See party wall surveyors.

After the decision

  • If permission is granted, neighbours have no right of appeal. Only the applicant can appeal, and only against a refusal, conditions or a failure to decide10.
  • A council's decision can be challenged in the courts only on a point of law, such as how the decision was made. That challenge must be brought within 6 weeks10. Take legal advice before going down that route.
  • If the application is refused, the applicant has 12 weeks from the date on the decision notice to appeal a householder refusal, and 6 months for most other refusals, for applications dated on or after 1 April 20262.

Free, independent help

Planning Aid England, part of the Royal Town Planning Institute, offers planning advice and support to individuals and communities11.

This guide explains published rules and council guidance. It is not legal advice, and the council decides each application.

Next

Sources

  1. Consultation and pre-decision matters (planning practice guidance) GOV.UK (gov.uk). Page updated 01/04/2022. Checked 14/10/2026.
  2. Planning appeals: procedural guide, for appeals relating to applications dated on or after 1 April 2026 GOV.UK (Planning Inspectorate) (gov.uk). Page updated 14/10/2026. Checked 14/10/2026.
  3. Commenting on a planning application Wiltshire Council (wiltshire.gov.uk). Checked 14/10/2026.
  4. View and comment on a planning application Somerset Council (somerset.gov.uk). Page updated 02/10/2026. Checked 14/10/2026.
  5. View and comment on current planning applications Bath and North East Somerset Council (bathnes.gov.uk). Checked 14/10/2026.
  6. View or comment on a planning application Swindon Borough Council (swindon.gov.uk). Checked 14/10/2026.
  7. Search for a planning application North Somerset Council (n-somerset.gov.uk). Checked 14/10/2026.
  8. Comment on a planning application North Somerset Council (n-somerset.gov.uk). Checked 14/10/2026.
  9. Determining a planning application (planning practice guidance) GOV.UK (gov.uk). Page updated 08/04/2026. Checked 14/10/2026.
  10. Appeals (planning practice guidance) GOV.UK (gov.uk). Page updated 02/04/2026. Checked 14/10/2026.
  11. Planning Aid England Royal Town Planning Institute (rtpi.org.uk). Checked 14/10/2026.