Procedures for taking direct action
4.1 Once the date to comply with the requirements of an enforcement notice expires, Council officers will visit the site to check compliance. If following this site visit it is confirmed that the notice has not been complied with in full, and there are no awaited decisions of the Secretary of State through his Planning Inspectorate, the Council will assess whether it is expedient to take additional action, including prosecution, an injunction and/or direct action.
4.2 This will involve a report by the investigating officer to the Development Manager for consideration and endorsement in liaison as necessary with the Head of Planning.
4.3 In the event that a decision is taken to take such action, the Council will endeavour to notify interested parties of its intention to take Direct Action at least one month before the works are scheduled to take place. Interested parties will include landowners or any other party the Council identifies as having an interest in the land through a Land Registry search. The notification will specify details of the works to be undertaken and the costs to be incurred. However, in exceptional circumstances it may not be appropriate for the Council to give advanced notification of its intention to take Direct Action.
4.4 In the course of taking Direct Action, only those works necessary to fulfil the requirements of the Enforcement Notice will be undertaken.
4.5 In order to access the property, the Council may need to liaise with other services including the police, bailiffs and/or a locksmith.
4.6 It should be noted that any materials, debris or other items that are removed from a premises throughout the course of undertaking direct action will be stored securely for a minimum of 28 days. The Council will take steps to advise the owner(s) of these items and how to recover such possessions. After this time the Council may choose to dispose of this material or sell these on to recover the expenses of taking direct action.
4.7 The decision whether to take Direct Action will usually be taken under Delegated Authority, unless the facts and circumstances of any particular case warrant reporting the matter to Committee.