Enforcement Action

Planning law is a minefield. Confusingly, a breach of Planning Permission is not necessarily fatal to your business and local authorities regularly allow retrospective applications that bring technically illegal behaviour onto the right side of the law.

However, if your local authority believes what you are doing is wrong or against the public interest, they have a range of enforcement powers to make you stop what you are doing. They have variety of uses and potential defences including:

Planning Contravention Notice

Used when: A local authority considers a development illegal

Contains: Information on the alleged breach, remedies available and timescales

Defence: Planning application or lawful development certificate

Enforcement Notice

Used when: A planning breach has occurred

Contains: Details of the alleged breach, steps required to remedy it and a deadline (usually 28 days)

Defence: Appeal if lodged by the end of the specified deadline

Stop Notice

Used when: The local authority wants your development to stop immediately

Contains: A stop order, issued in conjunction with an enforcement notice

Defence: None – failure to comply is an offence and there is no right of appeal

Breach of Condition Notice

Used when: A condition on a planning permission is being breached

Contains: A specified compliance period (usually 28 days), issued in conjunction with an enforcement notice

Defence: Lawful Development Certificate if breach has occurred for more than 10 years. Otherwise, there is no appeal