Planning Objection Deadlines

In England and Wales the minimum period to comment is 21 days from a neighbour notice or site notice, and in Scotland it is 21 days after the neighbour notification is sent. In Northern Ireland it is 14 days after the neighbour notification is sent. These are legal minimums: your council can allow longer, and the date printed on your notification letter, the site notice or the council’s planning portal is the one to work to.

The statutory minimum in each UK nation

Planning is devolved, so each nation sets its own minimum period for comments in its own procedure rules:

• England: In England the statutory minimum is 21 days from when a site notice is first displayed or a neighbour notice is served, 14 days from a newspaper or website notice, and 30 days where the application comes with an Environmental Statement. Source: Development Management Procedure (England) Order 2015, articles 15 and 33.
• Wales: In Wales the statutory minimum is 21 days from when a site notice is first displayed or a neighbour notice is served, 14 days from a newspaper or website notice, and 30 days where the application comes with an Environmental Statement. Source: Development Management Procedure (Wales) Order 2012, articles 12 and 21.
• Scotland: In Scotland the council's neighbour notification must give a date for comments no earlier than 21 days after the notice is sent, and the application can't be decided before that date has passed. Source: Development Management Procedure (Scotland) Regulations 2013, regulations 18 and 26.
• Northern Ireland: In Northern Ireland the neighbour notification must give a date for comments no earlier than 14 days after the notice is sent, and the council can't decide the application until 14 days after the latest of the newspaper notice, the date on the neighbour notice, or publication on its website. Source: Planning (General Development Procedure) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015, article 8.

None of these is a single national deadline for every application. Each one is the shortest period the law allows, and the council sets the actual date within that rule.

How to find the exact deadline for your application

The date that applies to you is published in one or more of these places:

• Your neighbour notification letter, if the council wrote to you. It also gives the application reference, which you’ll need for your objection.
• The site notice displayed on or near the site, which carries the same reference.
• The application’s page on your council’s planning portal. Search the portal by reference or address. In Northern Ireland, applications for ten of the eleven councils are published on the NI Planning Portal; Mid Ulster District Council runs its own system.

Our council directory links to each council’s own planning portal where we’ve verified one, along with its submission contact and the statutory minimum for that nation.

What if I’ve missed the deadline?

Objections submitted after the formal deadline aren’t automatically discarded. Case officers often still read them if the decision hasn’t been made yet, but the council isn’t obliged to, and submitting on time is the only way to guarantee your comments are considered. If the date has passed, check the application’s page on the portal: if it still shows as undecided, it’s worth sending your objection straight away rather than not at all.

Once a decision has been made, the route is much narrower. Only the applicant can appeal against a planning decision, so an objector can’t appeal an approval they disagree with. Our planning appeals guide explains what happens to your objection if the applicant appeals, and why it pays to put your strongest points in the original objection.

Making the most of the time you have

A late or rushed objection is weaker than one that lands on time with clear material planning points. Councils can only weigh material planning considerations, such as loss of light, overlooking, noise or harm to the character of the area, not personal matters like loss of view or property value. Our guide to material planning considerations explains what counts.

If your deadline is close, start your objection now: we find your application where we can, help you choose grounds that count, and draft an objection letter ready to submit. Or find your council to check its portal and submission contact first.