Report your concerns about possible unauthorised development. This could be about:
- building works
- how land or buildings are used
- works to listed buildings
- protected trees
- the erection of adverts
- the use of land for waste disposal
- buildings, plant or machinery for refuse or waste materials
- the site not meeting the conditions attached to a planning permission
- an issue relating to a quarry/mine
- pop up camping sites
Some development may not need planning permission because planning law allows development to be carried out through permitted development rights.
Before you start
To get us to investigate an issue, you must complete a form. To complete the form you will need:
- your contact details - your details will be confidential, but we will need your name and email address (or phone number) in case we need to follow up investigations and keep you informed
- location details - you can give the address if known, a description of location or select it on a map
- details of your concerns - to help us investigate, this should include:
- what you are worried about or impact it is causing
- when it started
- if it is ongoing, dates and time of day
- harm to the environment including pollution or risk to human health
Other helpful information you can provide:
- other planning cases that this relates to
- who is / was responsible
- any photos or other documents you want to include
- vehicle registration numbers - if applicable
How to report your concerns
Issues that you report, should be ones that are causing significant harm either to the environment or community. We will only pursue cases that are causing harm and are not able to take action on private disputes.
If you are unable to complete the form online, you can contact us and an advisor will help you.
What we do when we receive a report
We do not always take formal enforcement action. If the issue is not considered to be harmful to the environment or community, the investigation may be closed and no further action taken.
If we find an issue we may not be able to stop or reverse the situation straight away. We usually try and negotiate a solution. This lets the people responsible have a chance to sort the issue.
This may mean we:
- suggest they make a retrospective application. The development being unauthorised will not affect how the decision will be made, it will be judged on it's planning merits. If approved it could authorise the development. If refused they can appeal the decision
- take formal action and serve notices to remove / stop works or cease any use. The people responsible can appeal against the formal action. If there is an appeal, we will usually wait for a decision to be issued and then take further action as it is needed
Find out more about planning enforcement
Our enforcement plan sets out how the we deal with breaches of planning control and what we will investigate as part of a planning enforcement case. Where possible, we will seek to resolve breaches of planning control through negotiation.
Confirmation of Compliance with Enforcement Notice
Use this service if you require confirmation that an Enforcement Notice served by the Local Planning Authority has been complied with. Includes a site visit, full check of the enforcement case and written confirmation of the outcome. The fee for this service is £570 (inc. VAT). Please e-mail your request to the relevant planning team.
