If Bromley Council has refused your planning application, you should consider submitting a planning appeal. Bromley is the largest borough in London and more than half of it is Green Belt, so it refuses more applications than most. Councils don’t always get it right and their decisions should be challenged. Our chartered town planners prepare and manage the whole appeal for a fixed fee of £399.
Why Bromley refuses so many applications
Bromley is a mix of open Green Belt land and the built-up, suburban areas of Orpington, Petts Wood, Chislehurst and West Wickham. It also has a large collection of conservation areas, in which it is generally harder to get planning permission for developments. It sits among the London boroughs that turn down the most householder applications — see which councils refuse the most.
The refusals fall into a pattern: extensions said to harm the character and appearance of the area; new houses in back gardens refused as backland or garden-land development; and the usual neighbour objections: loss of light, outlook and overlooking. Most of these are matters of judgement rather than fact, which is exactly why so many of them are overturned.
Why inspectors overturn these refusals
If you appeal, it will be decided by an appeal inspector with no connection to Bromley. They visit the site, look at your proposal afresh and weigh it against national policy and the evidence. They will not automatically agree with the case officer’s concerns.
In one of our recent cases, a garage conversion and side extension in Petts Wood was refused as overdevelopment, allowed on appeal, and the inspector went further, ordering the council to pay the applicant’s costs because the refusal was vague, unsupported by any real analysis, and made against the advice of the council’s own officers. That is the council not just getting it wrong, but getting it wrong unreasonably.
Recent wins in Bromley
Two new houses in a back garden, Orpington. The council refused two dwellings in a long rear garden, leaning on its backland and garden-land policy and on the impact on the neighbours. The inspector allowed it. The plots matched others nearby, the new houses read as a natural continuation of the adjoining cul-de-sac and the neighbour was far enough away for the objection to fall away.
A costs award in Petts Wood. A garage conversion and single-storey side and rear extension, refused as overdevelopment with vague concerns about noise and parking. The inspector allowed it and awarded the applicant their costs, finding the council had behaved unreasonably in refusing a scheme its own officers had supported.
A mansard roof in Penge. The council would have refused a mansard roof extension over its effect on the character of the house and the setting of nearby locally listed buildings. The inspector allowed it. The street already carried a mix of roof shapes and heights, and the mansard sat comfortably among them.
A remodelled roof and extension in Bromley. A two-storey rear and side extension with a large side dormer, refused on character grounds. The inspector allowed it, because the house sat in a tucked-away backland plot where the dormer was all but invisible from the street.
Behind these sit a run of more everyday wins – single-storey rear extensions and a garden outbuilding across Beckenham, Bromley and Orpington, all refused over their effect on a neighbour’s light or outlook, and all overturned on appeal.
What the appeal process involves
Most householder and small-scheme refusals in Bromley go through the Part 1 expedited written representations procedure. There is no longer a written statement of case: the inspector decides on your original application documents, the council’s reasons for refusal, and a concise 250-word summary of why the decision was wrong. Because nothing new can be added later, the evidence that wins your case must already be in the application, and the summary must point the inspector straight to it. We complete the appeal form, draft that summary, and handle all liaison with the Planning Inspectorate through to decision, typically around three to four months. See our guides to winning a planning appeal and the 250-word summary.
Deadlines and cost
You have 12 weeks from the date on the council’s decision notice to lodge a householder appeal. Miss it and the right is lost. The Planning Inspectorate charges no fee; ours is a fixed £399 covering everything from reviewing your refusal to the decision — no hidden costs, no hourly rates.
Can we help with your case?
Our fixed-fee service covers standard householder appeals in Bromley — single-storey rear, side and wraparound extensions, two-storey extensions, dormers and outbuildings, along with small residential schemes like the two-house win above. It does not cover listed building consent, enforcement notices, or cases requiring a hearing or public inquiry; for those we’d refer you to our sister practice, Just Planning.
Get free initial advice
Send us your decision notice and we’ll review it free of charge, tell you honestly what we think your chances are, and explain what happens next. Get in touch — we respond within one working day.
