What is planning enforcement and what we do

Part of: Make a planning enforcement complaint

Planning enforcement deals with breaches of planning controls, including where:

  • building work requiring planning permission is undertaken without permission
  • conditions attached to a planning condition are not complied with
  • the use of a building or site is changed without planning permission

See our local planning enforcement plan for our service standards and information on how we deal with enforcement complaints.

The main duties of planning enforcement officers

Planning enforcement officers' main duties are:

  • investigating allegations and enquiries
  • writing to complaints and offenders
  • negotiating remedial action
  • liaising with other council departments to ensure consistency of approach
  • making recommendations as to the expediency of taking enforcement action
  • checking compliance with enforcement notices and prosecuting for non-compliance
  • appearing as a council witness in a magistrate court

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