Appealing a Planning Decision

When the planning authority makes a decision, any participant in the application can appeal the decision to An Bord Pleanála. This appeal must be made within 4 weeks of the date of this decision. 

You can only appeal a decision to An Bord Pleanála if you: 

• Applied to the planning authority for the proposed development. This is called a first-party appeal. 
• Made a written submission or observation to the planning authority about the proposed development at an earlier stage and you have a copy of the acknowledgment document you received from the local authority. This is called a third-party appeal. 

*Anyone who has an interest in the land which borders the site where planning permission has been granted may apply to the Board for leave to appeal the decision. You must meet strict conditions to be granted leave to appeal by the Board. 

Your appeal must include the following: 

• Your own name and address 
• Details of the proposed development, the name of the local authority, the planning register reference number and (if you are a third party) the planning applicant's name and address 
• The full grounds of the appeal with supporting material and arguments. The grounds of the appeal must relate to planning issues only. The Board cannot take other issues into consideration. 
• The correct fee 
• If you are a third-party applicant, the acknowledgement from the planning authority that you made a submission or observations on the application to it 

If you do not submit all the documentation, the appeal will be considered invalid and cannot be considered by An Bord Pleanála. 

An Bord Pleanála aims to make a decision within 18 weeks. However, if this is not possible, it will inform all the parties of this. 

Please see An Bord Pleanála’s Guide to Making an Appeal for more detailed information.