Planning Services
Enforcement
Planning permission is often required for development. The carrying out of development
without planning permission or the failure to comply with the conditions attached
to a planning permission is a breach in planning law. The Planning Service will
investigate whether planning permission is required, however it should borne in
mind that not all development requires permission, as sometimes development is time-barred
from enforcement action and therefore the Council does not have powers to act in
such circumstances. Where necessary and appropriate in the public interest, the
Council may take enforcement action when breaches in planning law have taken place.
The power to take enforcement action is discretionary. The purpose of planning enforcement
is to resolve the breach in planning law in the interests of the local community,
particularly when the breach causes unacceptable harm to public amenity. The planning
system does not exist to protect the interests of one person or business against
the activities of another. Planning enforcement is not intended to be a punitive
process. A number of considerations require to be taken into account before the
Council decides what course of action to take. The Council will prioritise its resources
appropriately and consider the level of harm caused by the unauthorised development
on the local community.
The Council has an enforcement charter which sets out in more detail
the enforcement process, the way to make a complaint about an enforcement matter
and what happens during the enforcement process.