A recent High Court decision has highlighted again how important it is to give careful consideration to who is identified as the applicant when submitting an application for planning permission. It is generally well known that it is only the person named as the applicant who has the right to appeal if a planning application is refused. Where an agreement is in place for the sale of land if planning permission is obtained, it is common practice therefore for the agreement to specify that both the buyer and the seller are to be named as joint applicants on the planning application form so that either can appeal if necessary.
Less attention is often paid however to who is named as the applicant where the application for permission is not linked to a disposal of land. Sometimes the applicant is stated to be the owner of the land, sometimes it is the parent company and sometimes it is the consultant who is managing the application. The decision of the High Court in Michaels v Spelthorne BC ([2026] EWHC 943 (Admin)) concerned an application that was submitted in the name of the director of the company which owned the development site. The application was refused by Spelthorne Council but was allowed on appeal. The appeal Inspector also made an award of costs against the Council as he considered that the Council had acted unreasonably in refusing to grant permission. However, when the developer tried to recover its costs, a dispute arose since the costs sought had not been incurred by the appellant (the director) but by the company that owned the land. The developer made various applications to the Planning Inspectorate and the High Court in order to try and obtain a revised costs award in the name of the company or at least an order that the costs incurred by the company could be recovered. The court expressed sympathy with the developer but reluctantly concluded that those costs could not be recovered.
An application for planning permission can be submitted in anyone’s name. The Michael’s case demonstrates that it ought to be submitted in the name of whoever is going to bear the costs of the application and any subsequent appeal.
