Where a breach of planning control has been established, it is the Council’s objective to proceed in the following manner:
Negotiation
It is often possible to remove a breach of planning control through negotiation with the parties involved. This is a favoured course of action as formal enforcement action is only taken as a last resort
In some instances, even though a breach of control has occurred, it may not be appropriate to take further action. This is because the Council has to consider whether, having regard to the circumstances of each case it is necessary and proportionate to issue an enforcement notice.
A high number of enforcement cases are resolved through negotiation.
Retrospective Application
There is opportunity to submit a retrospective application seeking to regularise development which has been either wholly or partially completed, either to address inadvertent breaches of control, or to address development which deviates from previously approved plans. Recourse to retrospective applications should be in exceptional circumstances and is not encouraged routinely, as there are risks associated with the merits of development being considered after it has been executed, and uncertainties associated with views which may be expressed by consultees and the public during the process means that there is no guarantee of a positive outcome. Whilst retrospective applications will be assessed on a “without prejudice basis”, their persistent and intentional use on individual projects is undesirable and may lead to further formal enforcement.
Formal Action
Where it is determined that formal action must be taken to resolve an enforcement case the Council must determine the most appropriate type of formal action to take (see Chapter 5 for more information). This normally involves the serving of either an enforcement notice or breach of condition notice. Both notices include the following information:
- A description of the breach that has taken place
- The steps that should be taken to remedy the breach
- The timescale for these steps to be taken
- The consequences of failure to comply with the notice
- Rights of appeal where appropriate
Only a small number of cases require to be dealt with by formal enforcement action.
Enforcement Register
Details of enforcement notices, section 33A notices (see Chapter 5), breach of condition notices and stop notices are entered into the Council’s enforcement register which is a public document. The enforcement register for each area office is available for inspection at the relevant address or the complete register is available on the Council’s web site at www.argyll-bute.gov.uk.
Powers of Entry
The Council has powers to enter land to:
- Establish if there has been a breach of planning control,
- To check whether there has been compliance with a formal notice,
- To check whether a breach has been satisfactorily resolved.
Time Limit
Enforcement action must be taken within strict time limits.
A time limit of four years for enforcement action applies to “unauthorised operational development” (i.e. the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under land) and change of use to a single dwellinghouse. After four years following the breach of planning control the development becomes lawful, and no enforcement action can be taken, although this does not mean that the unauthorised development benefits from planning permission.
A time limit of ten years for enforcement action applies to all other development including change of use (other than to a single dwellinghouse) and breaches of condition, after which the development becomes lawful if no enforcement action is commenced and as with the time limit for “operational development”, whilst enforcement action cannot be taken, this does not mean that the unauthorised development benefits from planning permission.