If a local authority has refused consent or grants consent subject to conditions, the applicant may have the right of appeal to the Scottish Ministers. The Scottish Ministers may uphold or dismiss the appeal, or reverse or vary any part of the decision of the planning authority. This can include amending a condition previously attached to the grant of consent.
The vast majority of appeals (some 99%) are delegated to a member of the Scottish Government's Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA), known as a reporter. Decisions are issued by the reporter without reference to Ministers. This is an efficient means of handling appeals that do not raise issues of national importance.
The remaining appeals, which are not delegated to reporters for decision, are 'recalled' to be determined by the Scottish Ministers themselves. 'Recall' of appeals is achieved by the issue of a direction to the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals. In general, an appeal would be recalled by Scottish Ministers only where it raised issues of genuine national interest, or perhaps where Ministers were already required to make a decision on a separate, but clearly related, matter. A substantial volume of objection, while a relevant consideration, would not in itself provide sufficient grounds for an appeal to be recalled. Each case is assessed individually, with full regard to all relevant considerations. The handling of a recalled appeal involves a reporter producing a report for the Scottish Ministers, containing a recommendation. Ministers may either accept or reject the reporter's recommendation, and they may either uphold or dismiss the appeal.
Although the decision of the Scottish Ministers is final, any party who is aggrieved by it may appeal to the Court of Session within six weeks of the date of the letter announcing the decision. The Court may quash the decision if satisfied that it is not within the powers of the 1997 Act or that the applicant's interests have been substantially prejudiced by a failure to comply with any requirements of that Act, or of the Tribunals and Inquiries Act 1992 etc. The Court cannot impose its own decision over that of the Scottish Ministers. All it can do is quash the decision, which then refers the matter back to the Scottish Ministers for redetermination. There can be no guarantee, therefore, that a successful challenge to the Court will result in a different decision.