Privacy Statement

Who we are

AppealBase™ is an open-access tool that helps architects, planning consultants, developers, and others in the built environment sector search and read planning appeal decisions issued by the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) in England.

AppealBase™ is independently developed and maintained. It is not affiliated with the Planning Inspectorate or the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

What data we publish

AppealBase™ republishes planning appeal decision notices and associated metadata originally published by the Planning Inspectorate through its Appeals Casework Portal.

We publish:

• • The full text of appeal decision notices (with personal data redacted)
• • The appeal reference number, decision date, and outcome
• • The appeal site address (with redactions in some cases)
• • The name of the deciding inspector
• • Associated metadata such as local planning authority, appeal type, and procedural route

Redaction of personal data

We do not publish personal data such as:

• • The names of appellants
• • Email addresses, phone numbers, or signatures
• • Medical or other sensitive (special category) information

Before publication, each decision notice is processed to detect and redact names and other personal identifiers. Automated methods are used to identify and redact personal names, with manual review or withholding from publication in some cases.

We retain site addresses where relevant for planning context. Inspector names are retained as they are public officials acting in their professional capacity.

If you believe a decision on AppealBase™ contains personal data that should not be published, please contact us.

Legal basis and licensing

The data published on AppealBase™ is drawn from information made available by the Planning Inspectorate and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. AppealBase™ complies with the terms of this licence, including attribution and redaction obligations.

We process and publish this information under the lawful basis of legitimate interests, with safeguards to minimise the use of personal data.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Privacy of website users

We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting any personal information you share with us.

• • No user accounts: AppealBase™ is free to use and does not require registration.
• • No ads or third-party data sharing: We do not sell or share any information with advertisers or third parties.

Cookies and Tracking

We use cookies and similar technologies to improve your experience on our website. You can manage your cookie preferences at any time using our Cookie Settings page.

Cookie Categories

Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors use our site. Google Analytics uses cookies and similar technologies to collect information about your use of the website, including:

• • Pages you visit and how long you spend on them
• • How you found our website (search terms, referring websites)
• • Your device type, browser, and general location (country/region level)
• • Whether you are a new or returning visitor

This information is processed by Google Analytics and helps us improve our website and understand user needs. Google Analytics data is anonymised and does not identify individual users.

You can control Google Analytics tracking by:

• • Using our Cookie Settings to disable analytics cookies
• • Installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on
• • Adjusting your browser settings to block cookies
• • Using private/incognito browsing modes

For more information about how Google uses data when you use our site, please see Google's Privacy Policy.

Email Alerts

You can create email alerts to receive notifications when new appeal decisions match your search criteria. When you create an email alert, we collect and store:

• • Your email address (normalized for storage)
• • Your search query and any filters you applied
• • Your marketing consent preference (optional)
• • Confirmation tokens and alert status
• • Timestamps for when the alert was created, confirmed, and last used

How email alerts work:

• • You can have one active email alert per email address
• • You must confirm your email address before alerts become active
• • We send daily digest emails with new decisions matching your search
• • You can unsubscribe, replace, or cancel your alert at any time
• • We use your email address to send you the requested alerts
• • If you consent to marketing emails, we may also send you weekly appeal statistics, new feature alerts, and other occasional updates

Legal basis: We process your email address and search preferences under the lawful basis of consent. You can withdraw your consent at any time by unsubscribing from your alert.

Data retention: We retain your email alert data until you unsubscribe or request deletion. Inactive alerts are automatically cleaned up after extended periods of inactivity.

Information you may voluntarily provide

If you contact us by email (e.g. to request a redaction or provide feedback), we will only use your contact details to respond to your message and take any necessary action. We do not use this information for marketing and do not store it beyond what is necessary to handle your request.

We do not collect or store IP addresses or browser metadata for general visitors to the site. The only server logs retained are for essential technical diagnostics and basic rate-limiting to protect against abuse.

Contact us

If you have any concerns about the content published on AppealBase™ — or believe any personal data has been included in error — please contact:

We will respond promptly and take appropriate action in line with data protection regulations.