Learning Outcomes
After reading this article, you will understand the main methods by which breaches of planning law are identified and remedied. You will be able to explain the various enforcement powers available to local authorities, including contravention notices, enforcement notices, stop notices, breach of condition notices, and injunctions. You will appreciate the statutory time limits and common procedural pitfalls, preparing you to address planning enforcement scenarios as required for SQE2 assessments.
SQE2 Syllabus
For SQE2, you are required to understand the planning law enforcement regime and apply the relevant enforcement procedures and remedies in practical scenarios. When revising, focus especially on:
- the purpose and process of planning law enforcement
- the range of enforcement powers available to local planning authorities
- statutory time limits for enforcement action and their effect
- consequences of planning breaches for clients and third parties.
Test Your Knowledge
Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, remember to look more closely at that area during your revision.
- What notice can a local planning authority serve to require information about potentially unlawful activities on land?
- Which notice, once served, requires specific steps to be taken within a set period to remedy a breach of planning control?
- How long does a local authority generally have to take enforcement action for unauthorised operational development?
- Can a registered proprietor be prosecuted for breach of a stop notice, and what are the consequences?
Introduction
Enforcement is a critical part of planning law, ensuring that breaches of planning control are identified and addressed by local authorities. For SQE2, you must be able to explain when and how a local authority can act, the types of notices available, the relevant time limits, and typical procedural steps. You will often be advising clients who face, or seek to avoid, enforcement. It is essential to understand the entire enforcement toolkit and its practical application.
Key Term: breach of planning control
A breach of planning control occurs where there is development without required planning permission, or failure to comply with a condition or limitation subject to which planning permission has been granted.Key Term: enforcement notice
A formal notice issued by a local planning authority requiring steps to remedy a breach of planning control within a specified time.Key Term: stop notice
A notice that prohibits activities specified in an accompanying enforcement notice, usually served to prevent a breach from continuing before the enforcement notice takes effect.Key Term: breach of condition notice
A notice served for failure to comply with any condition or limitation attached to a planning permission, requiring compliance within a specified period.Key Term: planning contravention notice
A preliminary notice requesting information about activities on land where a breach of planning control is suspected.
Enforcement Actions by Local Authorities
When a local planning authority suspects that planning control has been breached, it may take one or more types of enforcement action. The authority has discretionary powers, not a duty, to enforce. Before issuing formal notices, authorities often investigate and may seek voluntary compliance.
Planning Contravention Notice
When a local authority first suspects unauthorised development or activity, it may serve a planning contravention notice. The purpose is to require the landowner or occupier (or anyone else involved) to provide information about activities or uses on the land.
Key Term: planning contravention notice
A formal notice served by the local planning authority requiring detailed information related to a suspected breach of planning control. Failure to respond, or providing misleading information, is a criminal offence.
Enforcement Notice
If the authority identifies a breach of planning control, it can serve an enforcement notice. The notice must specify:
- the alleged breach (e.g., unauthorised building works or change of use)
- the steps required to remedy it (e.g., cease unauthorised use or remove works)
- the compliance period (not less than 28 days from service of the notice).
Appeal rights exist for recipients before the notice takes effect. It is a criminal offence to fail to comply with an enforcement notice.
Stop Notice and Temporary Stop Notice
In urgent cases, especially where activities are causing significant harm, a stop notice may be served. It must be accompanied by, or follow, an enforcement notice. The stop notice prohibits specified activities described in the related enforcement notice (e.g., ongoing building works). A temporary stop notice can be issued immediately, with effect for up to 28 days, without the need for an accompanying enforcement notice.
Key Term: stop notice
A notice served by the local authority to require that specific activities must cease, normally in conjunction with an enforcement notice and generally used for urgent situations.
Breach of Condition Notice
A local planning authority can issue a breach of condition notice if there is non-compliance with any planning condition or limitation. The notice sets out the steps required to secure compliance within a specified period (at least 28 days). There is no right of appeal against a breach of condition notice, and failure to comply is a criminal offence.
Injunction
For serious or persistent breaches, particularly where normal enforcement is ineffective, the authority may seek an injunction from the court to restrain actual or anticipated breaches of planning control. Breaching an injunction constitutes contempt of court and is punishable by fine or imprisonment.
Statutory Time Limits
Local authorities have strict time limits within which they must act:
- Four years from substantial completion for unauthorised operational development (e.g., building works).
- Four years for unauthorised change of use to a single dwellinghouse.
- Ten years for other breaches, including changes of use (other than to a dwellinghouse) and non-compliance with planning conditions.
If a breach is not enforced against within the relevant time, it usually becomes immune from enforcement. There are exceptions, for example where the breach was deliberately concealed.
Worked Example 1.1
A property owner converts a storage building into a separate dwelling and has occupied it without planning permission for five years. The local authority discovers this and serves an enforcement notice requiring the use to cease. Can the enforcement notice be challenged?
Answer:
Yes, the owner can challenge the enforcement notice because the four-year time limit for change of use to a single dwellinghouse has expired. Normally, planning control cannot be enforced after this period, unless deliberate concealment is shown.
Enforcement Procedure and Consequences
Authorities must serve enforcement or stop notices on the owner, occupier, and anyone with a legal interest in the land. Notices take effect at specified times and may be appealed to the Planning Inspectorate (for enforcement notices).
Breaching a notice without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence. Prosecution can lead to a fine. In addition, the authority may seek a confiscation order to recover profits under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 if the offence is financially motivated.
Exam Warning
There is no statutory appeal against a breach of condition notice. In contrast, an enforcement notice can be appealed before it takes effect. Always distinguish these procedural routes in answers.
Worked Example 1.2
A company is excavating land for aggregate without planning permission. A temporary stop notice is served, ordering the activity to cease immediately for safety reasons. The company continues the work. What are the possible consequences?
Answer:
Continuing the prohibited activity after a stop notice or temporary stop notice is a criminal offence. The local authority can prosecute, and the court can impose a fine. Further, if the breach is serious, the authority could seek an injunction.
Revision Tip
For each type of notice, memorise: (1) who can be served, (2) the available appeal or defence (if any), (3) compliance time limits, and (4) the enforcement consequences.
Key Point Checklist
This article has covered the following key knowledge points:
- Planning enforcement is discretionary, not mandatory, for local authorities.
- Main enforcement powers include planning contravention notices, enforcement notices, stop notices (including temporary ones), breach of condition notices, and injunctions.
- There are specific statutory time limits: four years for building/operational development and dwelling use, ten years for most other breaches.
- Enforcement notices and stop notices can be challenged by appeal; breach of condition notices cannot.
- Failure to comply with enforcement notices, stop notices, or breach of condition notices is a criminal offence, carrying significant penalties.
- Local authorities can seek injunctions for serious or persistent planning breaches.
Key Terms and Concepts
- breach of planning control
- planning contravention notice
- enforcement notice
- stop notice
- breach of condition notice