What is planning enforcement?
It is the process by which the Council investigates and resolves
complaints about unauthorised development.
What development is controlled by planning?
This includes most:
- New buildings
- Extensions and alterations
- Changes of use of land or Buildings
- Advertisements
- Alterations to Listed Buildings
- Certain works in Conservation Areas
- Works to trees in Conservation Areas or protected by a Tree
Preservation Order (TPOs)
- Minerals and Waste proposals
- Engineering operations
What can’t we control?
- Matters falling outside the planning regulations, such as legal
covenants, boundary disputes or competition between traders.
- “Permitted Development”; the Govern-ment has granted
blanket consent for minor extensions, alterations or changes of
use, provided they comply with the tests specified in the GPDO
*.
- “Deemed advertisements” which include many small
non-illuminated signs on buisness premises.
In all other cases, permission or consent is required. For
further information on what needs permission, please refer to
the Planning Portal or
contact Planning Control.
What can you complain about?
Development which is occuring:
- Without planning permission.
- Without complying with conditions that have been attached to a
permission.
- Which is not in accordance with an approved plan.
How can you make a complaint?
A complaint form can be completed online or downloaded from our
website.
- Contact the Planning Compliance Team.
- All your details will be kept confidential and are not revealed
to the offender.
- Anonymous complaints will not normally be investigated.
What will we do if you make a complaint?
- Within 3 days we aim to register your complaint and send out a
formal acknowledgement.
- This will give details of the officer who will be investigating
the case and their contact details.
- We will research the planning history of the site and carry out
other checks.
- Within 15 days we aim to undertake a site inspection. (Our
adopted Planning Compliance Strategy sets priorities for
investigation.)
- We may need to discuss the allegations with both you and the
alleged offender.
- We may also need you to provide additional information, to
assist our investigations.
What happens next?
- Within 25 days we aim to contact you to confirm our findings
and our likely course of action.
- We must establish whether a “breach of planning control” has
occurred. (This means that something has happened that has not got
the necessary permission or that Conditions attached to a
permission are not being complied with.)
- Where investigations show that the development is lawful or
that a breach has not occurred, we cannot take the matter
further.
- If the complaint is covered by other laws or regulations, we
will refer it to the appropriate organisation or other section of
the council.
If a breach has occurred, what action can we take?
If we find that a “breach of planning control” has occurred we
can:
- Request that changes are made to the development, to reduce any
nuisance to acceptable levels.
- Request that details required by a planning condition are
submitted or implemented.
- Ask for a retrospective planning application to be submitted.
(This will give us the opportunity to consult widely on the
development and we can impose controls through the use of
conditions.)
- Request that construction work stops or that an unauthorised
use ceases.
What happens if the breach continues?
We often try and resolve complaints without having to resort to
formal enforcement action. However, if an unacceptable breach
continues then we will consider using formal enforcement powers.
This decision is normally taken by the Head of Planning, Transport
and Engineering, but in some cases the Council’s planning committee
makes the final decision.
Formal action can involve issuing one of the following
notices:
- Planning Contravention Notice
- Enforcement Notice
- Breach of Condition Notice (BCN).
- Temporary Stop Notice.
- Stop Notice
- Section 215 Untidy Land Notice.
- Formal Caution
Breaches of planning control relating to unauthorised works
to trees covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO), or to a
Listed Building, or the unauthorised display of an advertisement,
can only be remedied by prosecution and not by the issuing of a
Notice.
Failure to comply with a Notice is a criminal offence and is
likely to lead to us considering further action, such as:
- Prosecution.
- Direct action, such as the demolition of an unauthorised
structure.
- Injunction.
Where can you go for further advice?
Our Planning Compliance Strategy
provides a full description of the enforcement
services.
- Council Planning Officers
- A Planning Consultant, Surveyor or Solicitor
- Planning Aid. This is a low-cost, independent, advice service
co-ordinated by the Royal Town Planning Institute. East of England
Planning Aid can be contacted on 0870-850-9801 or email at
eecw@planningaid.rtpi.org.uk.
Contact us
- Telephone 01733 453495
- Fax 01733 453505
- Email enforcement@peterborough.gov.uk
- Planning Compliance, Planning Services, Peterborough City
Council, Stuart House, St John’s Street, Peterborough, PE1 5DD