Terms used in this guide
' Appellant' - The person or organisation making an appeal to the Scottish Ministers.
' Council' - In most cases, the local council is the 'planning authority' for its area and so makes decisions on planning applications and other planning matters. But sometimes a 'national park authority' holds the role of the planning authority. For the sake of ease in this guide, we refer to the planning authority as being the 'council'.
' DPEA' - The Scottish Government's Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals, which handles planning appeals on behalf of the Scottish Ministers.
' Reporter' - The representative of the Scottish Government who will consider and, in most cases, decide the appeal.
This short guide does not cover every aspect of planning appeals procedures. It just gives an overview of how the appeal system works.
References to other guidance and contact information are given towards the end of the guide.