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Barnet, London

Planning appeals in Barnet

Across the latest five years of Inspectorate decisions, the Planning Inspectorate allowed 50.6 per cent of the 413 householder appeals decided in Barnet. A refusal here is often worth reading closely before you accept it. We read the notice against the officer's report, then prepare the drawings and statement if an appeal makes sense. Fixed quote after a free constraints check.

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    The house as it stands: four storeys over a lower ground floor.Existing Proposed worksAn illustrative model, built for this page.

    How we work on planning appeals

    Seven steps from first call to approval.

    The same model cut through the middle: every floor, the stair, the chimney breasts, the new mansard, rear extension and basement in section
    Section through the model: every floor on one datum.

    1. Enquiry and constraints check

      We check the property against conservation areas, listed status, Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders, flood zone and planning history. We choose the right route and send a fixed quote.

    2. Measured survey

      We survey the house on one datum: rooms, levels, boundaries, drains, trees and the neighbours' windows that the 45° and 25° tests depend on.

    3. Design options

      We model the house in Revit and show you options in 3D and plan, with the planning strategy and the precedents in your street.

    4. Design frozen

      You choose an option in writing. Nothing changes after this without your say.

    5. Independent check

      A second chartered technologist checks every sheet against the council's validation checklist and the policy. A senior review signs it off before anything is submitted.

    6. Submission

      We prepare the forms, certificates, fee and documents and submit through the Planning Portal.

    7. Officer liaison

      We answer the planning officer and make any amendments within five working days, at no charge until approval.

    Free redraws until approval. Every drawing set is checked independently, and the checker is never the person who drew it.

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    Planning appeals in Barnet: what the local record shows

    Appeal statistics are published by council area, which makes Barnet unusually easy to read. The Inspectorate decided 413 householder appeals in the borough, allowing 50.6 per cent. Set that beside the national picture for all planning appeals, where 31 per cent were allowed in the latest quarter. The two figures count different kinds of appeal, so read the comparison loosely, but it does suggest that a Barnet householder refusal can be worth contesting.

    That is a statement about the past across all appellants. Every case turned on its own facts, and nothing here predicts the result for your house. What it does support is a careful read of the refusal before you reapply or give up.

    The council's own decision-making sits in the background. It decided 1,361 householder applications in the latest year and granted 80.2 per cent, with 95.1 per cent decided in time. For minor applications it granted 67.4 per cent of 703. A householder refusal is therefore the exception, which also means the officer's reasons tend to be specific and answerable.

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    Local figures for Barnet

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Householder appeals decided by the Planning Inspectorate413 householder appeals decideddecision dates 1 Jul 2021 to 30 Jun 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder appeals allowed50.6 % of householder appeals alloweddecision dates 1 Jul 2021 to 30 Jun 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder decisions1,361 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted80.2 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications decided in time95.1 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Minor applications granted67.4 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Conservation areas16 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 directions15 Article 4 directions published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    DMPO 2015 art 37(2)(a): householder appeal, from the date of the decision notice12 weeks—legislation.gov.uk
    Annex B, householder appeals (written representations), decisions in June 2026; 351 decisions11.6 weeks—gov.uk

    A blank value means the figure has not been published, not that there are none. Check your own address with the council.

    Councils bordering Barnet
    Which application your project needsLawful Development Certificate decision: 8 weeks. Prior approval decision: 42 days. Householder decision: 8 weeksYour projectWithin permitted development?Lawful Development CertificatePrior approvalHouseholder applicationYesLarger rear extensionNoABC

    Which application your project needs

    The usual route for a house; flats and listed buildings follow other rules.

    A · Lawful Development Certificate decision
    8 weeks
    B · Prior approval decision
    42 days
    C · Householder decision
    8 weeks

    Which Barnet policies refusals tend to cite

    Barnet's Barnet Local Plan 2021-2036 was adopted in 2,025, and the guidance that matters for house extensions is its Sustainable Design and Development Guidance SPD, Part 4: Guidance on residential extensions and alterations. A refusal notice may quote the extension guidance on how a rear or side addition relates to the original house and to neighbours. We take each quoted rule and put the drawing beside it.

    The council also publishes 16 conservation areas and 15 Article 4 directions, and Historic England lists 651 entries in the borough. A refusal that mentions character or heritage deserves a heritage-aware reply, with street photographs and section drawings that show how the extension reads from the road.

    Reading the officer's report before you appeal

    The notice lists reasons, but the delegated report explains them. It records the policies applied, what neighbours said and the point where the case turned. We read it for three things: whether the cited policy truly covers your proposal, whether the officer measured something the drawings show differently, and whether comparable extensions on the same street were treated differently.

    Precedent on the same road carries weight with an inspector, so we search the council's planning register for decisions on similar houses and put the useful ones in the bundle. A plain factual error, such as a wrong depth, can sometimes be cured with a corrected resubmission instead of a full appeal.

    Timing for a Barnet householder appeal

    The deadline is 12 weeks from the decision notice for a householder case. The Inspectorate's median for householder written representations in its latest statistics was 11.6 weeks, and the twelve-month median across all written-representation appeals was 18 weeks. These are national medians for finished cases and do not forecast yours.

    If your notice is already a few weeks old, send it to us now. The drawings and statement take time to prepare properly, and a late appeal is not normally accepted. Photographs of the street and the neighbours' rear elevations are easy to gather early and useful later.

    What we prepare for the appeal bundle

    We write a statement that answers each refusal reason in turn and cites the development plan, and we correct or add to the drawings where the refusal exposed a gap. Where the dispute concerns bulk or outlook we add sections and a 3D view, because an inspector who can see the relationship decides on evidence, not on description.

    Someone outside the drafting team checks the whole bundle, and the sheets all come from one model so that the plans, elevations and sections agree. See our planning drawings page for how we work.

    Appeal, reapply or choose another route

    When the refusal is narrow, a revised scheme can be quicker. When the officer misread a policy or measurement, an appeal fits. Work that never needed permission can be proved with a Lawful Development Certificate, and a deeper rear extension may suit prior approval. Our Barnet architectural drawings page covers the borough's wider rules.

    We give you each option with a fixed quote and you decide. The outcome is the inspector's, and no result can be promised.

    What you receive

    Planning drawing sheet for a rear extension with plans, elevations and sections
    Sample drawing. Planning drawings for a rear extension: plans, elevations and sections on one sheet set.
    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential street
    The street around you
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    Other services in Barnet

    Planning appeals nearby

    Questions

    What share of Barnet householder appeals are allowed?

    50.6 per cent of 413 decided over the latest five years. It is a record of past cases, not a prediction.

    How long do I have to appeal in Barnet?

    12 weeks from the date of the decision notice for a householder application.

    Does Barnet refuse many householder applications?

    It granted 80.2 per cent of 1,361 decisions in the latest year, so a refusal is the minority outcome.

    Which Barnet guidance covers extensions?

    The council's Sustainable Design and Development Guidance SPD, Part 4: Guidance on residential extensions and alterations is the main document, alongside the Barnet Local Plan 2021-2036.

    Sources and dates

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    Tell us about your property.

    We check the constraints, then send a fixed fee. Messages before 3pm get a reply the same working day.

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