Planning enforcement plan

Involvement in the process

Advising the council of possible breaches

Reports of possible breaches of planning control should, whenever possible, be made in writing. This enables the council to have a written record of the need for initiating investigation and possible action. Reports of suspected breaches can be made by:

When this is not possible reports should be made in person, for example, by telephone to enable council officers to make a detailed written record.

Anonymous reports will not be investigated unless they concern a statutory listed building or a protected tree.

Vexatious or repeated complaints will not be investigated. The development manager will determine these on a case by case basis.

No personal data relating to those making complaints will be shared with any party involved in the alleged breach. 

In the event that a request is made to the council under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 or the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, personal information of individual complainants will not be disclosed in accordance with the principles of relevant data protection law.

If we have been informed that you may be responsible for a planning breach we will:

  • provide identification whenever we visit
  • provide the name of the officer carrying out the investigation
  • investigate the complaint thoroughly before making any decision on what action to take
  • write to you explaining our conclusions
  • explain what you need to do to put matters right, how long you have to do this and what the consequences might be if this does not happen
  • inform you if we decide to issue an enforcement notice, intend to take any direct action or start legal action

If you feel that there has been an error in the way in which an enforcement investigation is being carried out, or you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the council's investigations, you should use the council's formal complaints procedure which can be found on the council's website at Make a complaint.

Communication with members

Borough council members are informed of the receipt of allegations of breaches of planning on a weekly basis and are also informed of all cases that are closed.

Due to the confidentiality requirements of some of the legal processes involved in Planning Enforcement cases, detailed updates on, for example, the type of enforcement action being taken, cannot be provided to members of the public. However due to the nature of member involvement in operational matters, certain categories of information relating to the type of enforcement action being taken can be provided to Borough councillors.

In addition to this borough councillors have access to a digital enforcement tracker which enable them to access real time information on enforcement complaints. 

Communication with stakeholders

If any stakeholder (a member of the public, a parish or town council or a borough councillor) draw our attention to a possible planning enforcement issue we will:

  • not consider anonymous enquiries or vexatious or repeated complaints
  • write to acknowledge your complaint within the prescribed time period
  • write to let you know the priority it has been given and who is investigating it
  • contact you if we need further information
  • keep you informed on progress at key stages of our investigation
  • let you know the final outcome of your complaint
  • treat your complaint confidentially

Parish and town council involvement

In addition to this, if you are a parish or town council:

The council recognises that parish and town council members have an important role to play in this process. Town and parish councils have a great deal of local knowledge and awareness of what is happening in their areas. Town and parish councils can inform the planning enforcement process and as such the council encourages them to engage with officers over planning enforcement issues, on the understanding that decisions on whether or not to take enforcement action are governed largely by the law and clearly defined material planning considerations and as a result cannot be unduly influenced only by local perception.