Planning enforcement

Planning permission for development work

Planning Enforcement refers to development work that has been carried out which should have had planning permission, or where the permission has not been complied with. It ensures fairness, stops unacceptable or unauthorised developments, and gives communities confidence in the system.

A breach can be reported to our planning enforcement team to investigate. They will then look at the problem and decide on what action should be taken if required. We always aim to resolve planning enforcement through negotiation and discussion before resorting to formal action.  

Check if permission has been granted

You can check if permission has been granted by search on our Public Access system.

How to report a breach of planning compliance

Please use our online form to report a breach of planning control. Please make sure you include: 

• the nature of the breach
• the location
• your name, address, and contact details
• photos of the development or other documents
• nature of any impact on amenity arising from the condition of land, including specific information about what is causing the impact, details of where the land can be seen from, and the length of time the land has been in the condition described

Your personal details are confidential and will only be accessible to the Enforcement Team. Find out more by reading our privacy notice.

If you do not wish to submit a complaint using the online reporting page or wish to remain anonymous then you should contact your local Parish Council, bringing the matter to their attention and ask that they take the matter up on your behalf. Alternatively, you can contact your local Councillor and ask them to raise the matter on your behalf.

Next steps

Your case will be assigned to a member of the team. You will receive an email with the case reference number, the case officer name and email address.

Formal enforcement action is discretionary and is pursued when the breach of planning control is causing harm, or conflicts with development plan policies. Just as with a planning application, each enforcement investigation must be looked at on an individual basis.

We may decide to hold off on formal enforcement action whilst the person makes a retrospective application (an application for something that has happened in the past) for planning permission or consent.  

The time required to investigate a case will vary depending on complexity and priority.  

What you can report as a breach

• Building work or alterations that have been carried out without planning permission, and are not permitted development (these are developments that are exempt from planning permission)
• Building work has planning permission but it is different from the approved plans
• Failure to comply with the conditions that were attached to a planning permission
• Work or demolition has occurred to a listed building or a building in a conservation area without permission
• Unauthorised work to a tree, or trees, protected by a Tree Preservation Order
• Work to a tree or trees in a conservation area, or work to any rural agricultural hedgerow, has been carried out
• The significant raising or lowering of ground levels or land, or the formation of earth bunds
• The use of land or a building has changed without permission
• Unauthorised display of an advertisement or sign
• The land or building is in poor condition and is impacting on the visual appearance of the wider area
• Short term visitor accommodation - there is possibly a need for planning permission because the residential use of the property has changed
• Development has occurred which is not permitted because an Article 4 Direction has been made

What you cannot report

• Building work or extensions that don't require planning permission - this is known as permitted development
• Changes in the use of land or buildings which are not so significant that they comprise a material change of use (this is when there is a substantial change in the way a property is used, for example a change of use)
• The display of advertisements which do not require consent
• Where operational development has been carried out more than 4 years ago it is immune from enforcement action
• Where a residential use of a building has taken place for more than 4 years it is immune from enforcement action
• Where any other change of use has existed for more than 10 years it is immune from enforcement action
• Issues relating to waste disposal
• Problems relating to noise and disturbance; smell nuisance and light pollution which are investigated by Environmental Health
• Issues relating to the adopted highway (including advertisements displayed within the highway or on street furniture, or illegally parked cars)
• If buildings or extensions have been constructed inadequately or there are concerns regarding potentially dangerous structures
• Problems relating to covenants or other legal restrictions on a specific piece of land or building - these are civil and legal matters
• Boundary or land ownership disputes
• Work to trees that are not covered by a tree protection order or are not in a conservation area
• Suspected future breaches (things you believe might happen)
• Trade or competition complaints
• Parking on roads or the highway
• Neighbour disputes
• Private rights and covenants

Local enforcement plan

Our Local Enforcement Plan explains how we investigate reports of unauthorised development, the powers we have to resolve breaches of planning control, and what the enforcement process entails. The enforcement powers available to us can be used to establish whether a breach of planning control has taken place, what harm a breach has caused, and how we can remedy the situation. (Link to document that I will provide shortly)

Search the enforcement register

You can find out if a/your house, premises or site has an enforcement notice registered against it either by searching our online enforcement register or using our online map which contains information on all enforcement actions as part of the planning information displayed.

Search the register using either the address, or if you know it, the reference number. You can view a copy of the enforcement notice.

Last updated 03 August 2026