If you have applied for planning permission, or been affected by somebody else's planning application, you may already know how the planning system can affect you. If you want to extend your house will you need planning permission? Who should you ask? Alternatively you may have always fancied moving to a barn conversion or like the idea of building your own home on a plot of land. If this is the case the planning system will be crucial to whether you can realise your dreams.

Over the next few months I will attempt to run through a number of planning issues and questions commonly asked of Planning Consultants and Local Government planning officers. Initially I shall look at the planning system itself and how it operates.

The planning system in the UK dates back to the early part of the twentieth century. Essentially, each Council provides a Local Plan that will outline the policies for the future development of their area. These policies provide the basis for the way in which that Council then deals with the planning applications submitted by members of public through the Development Control system.

Each planning department is split between those planners engaged in planning for the future development of an area in the preparation of Local Plans, and those who deal with the day to day matters of planning applications, enquiries and the appeals against the refusal of planning permission. At some point, most of us will contact the planning department to discuss a house extension or alteration of some form. In fact around 35% of a planner's time is spent engaged in this type of work. Larger developments, superstores, housing or industrial estates, or the growing leisure market take up the remainder of their time.

Most planning applications carry a fee, which goes towards paying for the Council's service in dealing with the application. Once received, the Council are obliged to contact neighbours and advise them of the application. Various other bodies such as Parish Councils or the Environment Agency will also be asked for their views. You will usually have three weeks to make any comments on an application. Most applications take two months to be determined; some more complex applications take longer. It is a growing trend that the Councillors on a Planning Committee tend to decide fewer and fewer planning applications. To speed things up planning officers usually deal with the "straightforward" applications under the powers delegated to them by their Councillors. However, these powers sometimes extend to refusing as well as approving applications. If this has happened to you, you will know how annoying it can be to have your application refused by an officer of the Council. Make sure you keep an eye on your application's progress and ask the officer who will be making the decision on the application.

If your planning application is refused you can appeal to the Secretary of State's Planning Inspectorate. Most appeals are dealt with by the preparation of written statements on both sides and an independent Inspector, often a retired former planner, will visit the site and make a decision based on these statements. Some larger appeals are dealt with by hearings or Public Inquiries. For almost all appeals it is sensible to seek help from a Planning Consultant or a Solicitor. Allow up to six months for your appeal to be considered and determined by the Planning Inspectorate.

If you objected to a planning application and it was approved, there are currently no "third party" rights of appeal open to you. There is sometimes scope to look at the decision taken by a Council and check that the application was dealt with correctly in law. If you feel that there may have been an injustice in the way the application was dealt with you should seek legal advice as soon as you have been made aware of the Council's decision.

Over the last fifty years the system has become increasingly complex, though recently the Government have indicated a desire to improve matters, making it more accountable, streamlined and generally more efficient. The Government's recent Green Paper on the planning system acknowledges that it is over-bureaucratic, too complex and contains plans for the future of our towns and cities that are already out of date. It seems inevitable that the system will change over the next two years.

Despite these likely changes, there remain any number of planning issues related to listed buildings, farm diversification, development in the countryside and the future of our farming industry that will remain no matter how the planning system itself alters. I will attempt to look at a few of these issues over the next few months, starting with barn conversions. In the last ten years barn conversions to residential use have continued to provide both the most realistic way in which people can move out to and experience life in the countryside and for farmers to realise an essential source of income. Many Councils are reconsidering their barn conversion policies and I will look at these likely changes and how it may affect our rural economy.