Summary
Information on Planning Enforcement, what constitutes unauthorised development, and enforcement complaint forms.|
Unauthorised Development
This page only deals with matters from a Town and Country Planning point of view – there may well be breaches of other legislation or regulations which will be dealt with by other sections of the Council or other Authorities.
What is Unauthorised Development?
Development that requires planning permission but has taken place without obtaining consent. Development may consist of a change of use of land or buildings, the construction of a building, or any other operational development.
Not all development requires planning permission, it may fall within permitted development rights laid down by the Government. To find out if you require planning permission check the information on the Do I need planning permission page|.
In many cases unauthorised development is accidental or comes about through an understandable lack of knowledge of planning law. You should seek advice from a Planning Officer about the need for planning permission and the likelihood of permission being given, giving full details about the development. If you wish to seek permission against the advice given to you, then you are entitled to make an application for planning permission to attempt to retain the development.
It is always advisable to stop any unauthorised development until such time as the matter is resolved following investigation. If any retrospective application is refused you will be asked to cease or remove the development following which enforcement notices will be served to bring this about.
Enforcement notices can cause problems for the owners of property. Apart from legal action by ourselves it will usually cause serious problems if you want to sell the property. Enforcement notices are registered against the land and remain valid on the land even after they have been complied with. In the event of a sale of the property the enforcement notice is disclosed and can cause a serious delay. Enforcement notices are only ended by a subsequent planning permission, by a successful appeal or by a specific resolution of the Council's Development Control Committee. It should be noted that enforcement action will only be taken if it is considered expedient to do so, and is often a last resort in most cases.
Complaints
If a complaint is made about your unauthorised development, it will be investigated by an Enforcement Officer. The Enforcement Officer will take appropriate action to resolve the matter, either by ensuring it is regulated through the submission of a retrospective planning application or terminated by way of enforcement notices being served.
To submit an enforcement complaint click here and complete the complaint form.|
For information on the Enforcement Officer's role and details on the different types of offences follow the link to the additional enforcement information page|.