Planning Enforcement

In most instances if you breach planning legislation you are not committing a criminal offence. If you have carried out development without permission you can usually make a retrospective Planning Application to regularise the situation.

Most councils only have a reactive approach to Enforcement, in that they will only investigate when they receive a complaint. The first you may know about the complaint is when an Enforcement Officer turns up in reception, you receive a letter advising you of the allegation or you receive a Planning Contravention Notice. The main thing to be aware of with Enforcement proceedings is that they have strict timescales to work within and failure to comply with the requests for information or the requirements of Notices could land you in court. At the first sign of trouble contact us and we’ll ensure that deadlines are met and appropriate action is taken to deal with the allegations.

Unauthorised works to Listed Buildings, within Conservation Areas or to Protected Trees are criminal offences and can result in hefty fines. We can provide you with Legal Advice and Pre-application Advice to ensure you don’t end up paying the council for your lack of knowledge of the planning process.