Research and analysis

Appeals Data: Data notes and guidance

Updated 3 December 2024

Applies to England

1. Data quality

Some categorisation of appeals can be subjective. The ‘Field Descriptions’ (list below) gives and explanation for each field in this data set. We have also included an indicator of the data quality of each field. We have various mechanisms for checking our data or being alerted to changes that need to be made - therefore data can change between different publications of this data set. If you spot a data error please tell us: [email protected].

Data Quality Categories *
Excellent Has to be correct
Good Has to be present but may not always be correct
Moderate Non mandatory field and not always populated
Subjective Set by defined criteria, can be subjective and not always populated
Free format Plain language description, usually as written on original appeal

2. Field descriptions

Field Name Explanation Field Type Data Quality *
Reference The Planning Inspectorate (PINS) Reference Number Numeric Excellent
Type of Appeal Appeal type name e.g. Planning Appeal Alphabetic Excellent
LPA Name Local Planning Authority Name Alphabetic Excellent
ONS LPA Code Office for National Statistics code for the Local Planning Authority Alphabetic numeric Good
LPA Decision Date Date the Local Planning Authority decided the original application Date Good
Received Date Date received in PINS Date Good
Valid Date Date validated by PINS Date Good
Start Date Date started by PINS Date Good
Decision Date If the Jurisdiction is Transferred (see row 17 below for more information on the Jurisdiction) then it is the date of the decision made by PINS. If the Jurisdiction is Secretary of State then it is the date that the report was sent to the Secretary of State Date Good
Decision Decision e.g. Allowed, Dismissed, etc Alphabetic Good
Inspector Name Inspector’s name Alphabetic Moderate
Procedure Procedure e.g. Written Representations Alphabetic Excellent
Development Type Development type e.g. Major Dwellings Alphabetic Subjective
Appeal Type Reason Reason for making the appeal Alphabetic Good
Reason for the appeal Appeal reason (this field is only populated for certain types of appeals) Alphabetic Good
Type - Detail Application type full name Alphabetic Good
Jurisdiction Transferred is where PINS is the decision maker on behalf of the Secretary of State. Secretary of State is where an Inspector writes a report with recommendations and the final decision is made by the Secretary of State Alphabetic Excellent
Link Status Whether the case is linked. For ‘Child’ cases this denotes that another appeal is taking the lead Alphabetic Good
Lead Case If the case is a ‘Child’ (linked to another case) then this field will let you know the reference number of the lead case Numeric Good
Appellant Appellant’s name Alphabetic Good
Site Address Address of the site Alphabetic Moderate
Area Of Site In Hectares Area of the site (if known) Numeric Moderate
Floor Space In Square Metres Floor space in square meters (if known) Numeric Moderate
Number Of Residences Number of dwellings (if known) Numeric Moderate
LPA Application Reference Local Planning Authority application reference number (if known) Numeric Good
Site Green Belt Is the site in the green belt (if known) 1, 0 or blank (1 = Yes) Moderate
Agricultural Holding Is the appeal agricultural holding (if known) 1, 0 or blank (1 = Yes) Moderate
Development Affect Setting Of Listed Building Does the development affect the setting of a listed building (if known) 1, 0 or blank (1 = Yes) Moderate
Historic Building Grant Made Historic building grant made (if known) 1, 0 or blank (1 = Yes) Moderate
In CA Relates To CA In a conservation area or relates to a conservation area (if known) 1, 0 or blank (1 = Yes) Moderate
Is Flooding An Issue Is flooding an issue (if known) 1, 0 or blank (1 = Yes) Moderate
Is The Site Within An AONB Is the site within an area of outstanding natural beauty (if known) 1, 0 or blank (1 = Yes) Moderate
Site Within SSSI is the appeal in a a site of special scientific interest (if known) 1, 0 or blank (1 = Yes) Moderate
Redetermined Is the appeal being redetermined? 1, 0 or blank (1 = Yes) Good
Bespoke Indicator If the bespoke indicator is 1 then the case is following a bespoke timetable. The timetable is agreed between PINS and the main parties and this includes the event date and target date 1, 0 or blank (1 = Yes) Excellent
Date Recovered The date if a case is recovered by the Secretary of State Date Excellent
Date Not Recovered Or Derecovered The date if a case is derecovered by the Secretary of State (the Jurisdiction is transferred back to PINS) Date Excellent
Call In Date The date when an application is called in by the Secretary of State Date Excellent
Costs Applied For Indicator Costs applied for (if known) 1, 0 or blank (1 = Yes) Moderate
Enforcement Grounds Count Number of grounds on the appeal if Enforcement Numeric Excellent
Enforcement Grounds Grounds of appeal if Enforcement (the grounds are selected when the appeal is raised) Alphabetic Excellent