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Business full menu:
Planning
Enforcement a brief guide
Planning - January 2007
planning.contactcentre@kirklees.gov.uk
Why does the Council enforce planning policies?
Kirklees Council has drawn up procedures to enforce the planning policies outlined in the
Unitary Development Plan (UDP) for the district. The UDP sets out the Council's planning
strategy and its policies for guiding and controlling land use and development.
We receive more than 1,000 complaints each year about alleged breaches of planning control
and we employ a team of officers to deal exclusively with enforcement issues. This is in line
with central government legislation and guidance (see References).
Common planning complaints relate to advertisements, changes of use of land or buildings,
and development by householders without planning permission. We investigate each properly made
complaint but only a quarter of these result in formal enforcement action - others are resolved
before this point and further action is often not appropriate. We keep records of action taken
and decisions made in all cases.
We always have to decide whether or not enforcement action should be taken. There is no
obligation to take action in every case. Our decision has to take account of the following:
- It is not an offence to carry out development without planning permission but action will be taken if it is decided that the appearance of the area, or people living nearby, have been adversely affected, or protected land, trees and buildings affected in an unacceptable way.
- Action will not be taken if objections to the development cannot be made on planning grounds. In other words, if a planning application was to be received for what is done, it would be granted.
- If formal action is taken, this is because it has been decided that this is the best way to solve the problem.
- In co-operation with Building Control, we will monitor major development sites to ensure that they comply with their planning permission. Sites will be regularly inspected with the aim of preventing problems before they occur. These inspections will be made regardless of whether Building Control is the approved inspector.
What happens when a complaint is made?
If you make a complaint, you will be told of the outcome of our decisions and we will keep a fil
giving our reasons for these. Your name will not be disclosed to anyone, including the person
you are making the complaint about.
Complaints must be made in writing, either by letter or on an official complaints form (available from
The Planning Service). This is necessary as we need full documentation of the complaint and we will
need to contact you again. If you have any difficulties with this, please let us know as we will be
able to help you complete the form. If action is likely to be needed to be taken quickly, as in the
case of protected trees or buildings, we act on verbal information though this will need to be confirmed
in writing as soon as possible.
How to make a complaint
Step 1
Check Planning Applications search online. You can check
to see if planning consent has been approved or if a condition has been placed on that planning consent.
This will help you to make your complaint more specific.
Step 2
Contact The Planning Service and say what your complaint is about. You can use the online
Enforcement Form if you wish. If you make a
verbal complaint, you will be sent a form to fill in and return. The matter will be investigated once
we have received the form. You will receive an acknowledgement within five working days and be informed
of the name of the officer dealing with your complaint.
Step 3
We will investigate the complaint and decide whether to take action or not. We may find that planning
permission has already been granted, or it may be 'permitted development', or it may be that we have no
jurisdiction over it. You will be kept informed of key decisions and actions. If no further action
is to be taken you will be informed of the reason within ten working days of our decision.
Step 4
Action may be taken. If there has been development without planning permission, you will be informed when
any application is made. You will also be notified of the outcome once we have resolved the problem.
If a complaint is made against you
Step 1
An enforcement officer will visit the site to decide whether there has been a breach of planning regulations.
If there has, you will be told of what to do to put matters right. You may need to make a planning application
to obtain permission for what has to be done.
Step 2
If you do not act on the enforcement officer's advice and the matter is considered serious, you will be served
with an official notice. This will give you a limited time to set matters right. You will have the
right to appeal against the notice except in certain circumstances.
Step 3
If you have not complied with the official notice we have the right to take you to court and you could be
fined. In extreme cases, you could be imprisoned.
We will do all we can to avoid taking legal action and will try to negotiate a solution which is acceptable
to all. However, if this is not possible or you are unwilling to co-operate, then legal action will be
taken to put matters right.
Taking urgent action
If we believe the situation is urgent then immediate action will be taken. This may include dealing
with threats to protected trees or buildings, and in cases where public facilities could be seriously
affected. We may also take immediate action if we believe that planning regulations were knowingly
breached. In such cases we may decide not negotiate at all.
References
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