| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Wonky “illegal” car park to get planning permission | |
| Posted by: | Adam Beamish | |
| Date/Time: | 09/01/21 13:38:00 |
| Reg, I did touch upon this in an earlier post (although it is a general summary of relevant planning legislation, not specifically about this specific issue) when I wrote : 1) To breach planning control isn't a criminal offence/illegal. Anyone can do so and then has the right, in law, to either apply retrospectively or to remedy that breach. Other than in scenarios where significant and immediate harm is taking place, local authorities should give a perpetrator an opportunity to apply retrospectively or remedy the breach before considering taking formal enforcement action. Any retrospective application must be determined in the same way as a proposed application. 2) In all cases the authority has to assess the expediency of taking formal enforcement action, and such action should only be taken as a last resort (except in those cases where serious/immediate harm is resulting from the breach). Only if such action is taken and the perpetrator doesn't comply is a criminal offence being committed. Typically, and for many years, the percentage of investigations where formal enforcement action is taken against the total number of investigations is around 10%. Simply because such action should only be taken as a last resort. As for serving a stop notice (which is the only way to stop unauthorised works), such action is only taken where the harm being caused is immediate and irreversible, in 10 years of working at LPA's I can count on 1 hand the number of times the authorities I worked for issued a stop notice or an injunction. A stop notice also carries the considerable risk that if such a notice is served and planning permission then granted for the development, the Council is liable to pay compensation to the developer. Not saying that is right or fair, but that's what the legislation says and has said for over 30 years now. |