ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the operation of the planning appeals system itself and identifies what opportunities remain for community involvement. The Planning Inspectorate is the custodian of the planning appeal system and it is an executive agency of both the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Welsh government. Northern Ireland has an independent appeals body, the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC). It has 89 functions under various pieces of legislation. The scale of activities around planning appeals can be discovered in statistics provided by relevant government departments. Depending on the nature of the appeal process that is followed with an appeal, objectors regularly put forward the argument, particularly in the case of public inquiries, that applicants can afford to employ the best professional advice, including leading counsel to advocate on their behalf. Local community involvement activities revealed significant local support from both the public and community-based organisations such as parish councils.
