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The planning enforcement team is responsible for investigating
alleged breaches of planning control, advertisement control and
conditions. In addition, they are responsible for assessing
complaints under the high hedge legislation. They carry out
approximately 500 investigations each year.
The enforcement officer will visit the site of the alleged breach
and if a breach of planning control is identified, the enforcement
officer will attempt to negotiate an informal resolution by either
inviting a retrospective planning application or by requesting that
remedial works be carried out. If informal negotiations fail to
reach a positive conclusion, then the Council may decide to take
formal action.
All complaints that are made to the Enforcement Team are treated as
confidential and personal details are not divulged to any other
persons.
If you are affected by work someone is doing and you think that
they do not have planning permission, please call our enforcement
team on 01952 380380.
Enforcement - frequently asked questions
The following information is provided as a guide only, and is not
an explicit interpretation of planning legislation. You should
contact the enforcement team for advice relating to your specific
circumstances.
Click on the question to view the answer. To return back to the
question click on the 'Back' arrow at the top of the internet
page.
1 In what circumstances is planning permission required?
2. Can my neighbour erect a wall or
fence on a boundary without planning permission?
3. Can my neighbour build an
extension or conservatory without planning permission?
4. Can my neighbour build a roof
extension without planning permission?
5. Can my neighbour install uPVC windows in their
house without planning permission, even in a conservation
area?
6. Can my neighbour change their shop to a café
without planning permission?
7. Can my neighbour cut down a tree on their
property?
8. Can my neighbour run a business from their
house?
9. Can my neighbour
erect a satellite dish on the front of the property, even if it is
in a conservation area?
10. How do I find out if my
neighbour has planning permission for the development being carried
out?
11. How do I find out who owns my
neighbour's property or any plot of land, fence or wall?
12. What can I do if my
neighbour is building an extension or wall and part of it will be
on my land?
13. Who can help me if my
neighbour is carrying out works to a party wall?
14. Who can help me if my
neighbour's builders are working on Sundays and late/early during
the week
15. Who can help me if there is
excessive noise, smell or other forms of pollution being caused by
activities at my neighbour's property?
16. How do I find out if I need
permission to erect an advert on my business
premises?
17. What action will the Council
take in respect of flyposting?
1. In what circumstances is planning
permission required?
Planning permission is required for most visible external
building works and changes of use on private land. There are a
number of types of building works and changes of use that do not
require planning permission, falling into two main categories:
- Works which are not defined as 'development' and therefore do
not require permission.
- Works that already have permission, or 'deemed
consent'.
The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development)
Order 1995 automatically grants deemed consent for a wide range of
works by virtue of 'permitted development'. Some of these
works are discussed below, but if you want more in-depth or
specific advice, visit the
Planning Portal or the
DCLG website. Alternatively you can see a
full copy of the legislation at the
HMSO website.
2. Can my neighbour erect a wall or
fence on the boundary without planning permission?
Unless their property is a Listed Building or covered by an Article
4 Direction, your neighbour can erect a 'means of enclosure' (gate,
wall, fence, etc) up to one metre in height where it is adjacent to
a highway, or up to two metres in height on any other boundary. If
an existing means of enclosure is altered or repaired, it can
extend to its former height. For more detailed or specific advice,
visit the
Planning Portal website. You should be aware
that the ownership of land and boundaries is a civil matter and
cannot be dealt with by the Council.
3. Can my neighbour build an
extension or conservatory without planning
permission?
In most cases, if the property is a single dwellinghouse (and not
flats) then your neighbour may erect an extension (including a
conservatory) without planning permission, However, although some
of the size limitations are explained below, given the complexity
of the legislation and the fact that some developments have
conditions which remove permitted development rights, you can seek
confirmation by contacting
Planning Services or visiting the
Planning Portal website.
If the property is within a conservation area or is a terraced
house, the total volume of the extension(s) must not exceed 50
cubic metres, or 10 percent of the original dwellinghouse,
whichever is the greater. In any other case, the total volume of
the extension(s) must not exceed 70 cubic metres, or 15 percent of
the original dwellinghouse, whichever is the greater. This volume
is the total allowed for all extensions on the property, therefore
the volume of any other extensions, including roof extensions,
should be subtracted from this allowance.
If the extension is within 2 metres of the property boundary, it
must not be in excess of 4 metres in height. In addition, the total
area of ground covered by the extension must not exceed 50 percent
of the total are of the 'curtilage' (the property's land excluding
the ground area of the house itself).
4. Can my neighbour build a roof
extension without planning permission?
In most cases, if the property is a single dwellinghouse (and not
flats) and not in a conservation area, then your neighbour may
erect a roof extension to the rear of the property without planning
permission. However, there are a number of restrictions and
limitations, and although some of the size limitations are
explained below, given the complexity of the legislation and the
fact that some developments have conditions which remove permitted
development rights, you can seek confirmation by contacting
Planning Services or visiting the
Planning Portal website.
The total volume of the extension(s) to the roof must not exceed 40
cubic metres, in the case of a terraced house or, 50 cubic metres
in any other case. The roof extension must not front a highway and
must not exceed the highest part of the existing roof.
Internal loft conversions that do not extend beyond the existing
roof may not require planning permission. However, the insertion of
a roof-light in a conservation area may require planning
permission.
Some individual properties within the Severn Gorge Conservation
Area benefit from greater protection and roofs and chimneys cannot
be changed without planning permission. These properties are
covered by an 'Article 4 Direction'. For further information
on other items covered by the Direction see
Article 4 Directions.
5. Can my neighbour install uPVC
windows in their house without planning permission, even in a
conservation area?
In most cases, if the property is a single dwellinghouse (and not
flats) and is not a Listed Building, your neighbour can replace
windows or insert a new window in the building without planning
permission. However some properties may be the subject of specific
planning conditions which prevent the installation of uPVC windows
without permission you can seek confirmation by contacting the
Enforcement Officer who will be able to confirm whether the
specific property is covered by such a condition.
Some individual properties within the Severn Gorge Conservation
Area benefit from greater protection and windows cannot be inserted
without planning permission. These properties are covered by an
'Article 4 Direction'. For further information on other
items covered by the Direction see
Article 4 Directions.
6. Can my neighbour change their shop to a
café without planning permission?
If a property
has a lawful use as a retail shop (use class A1) any changes to a
restaurant/café (use class A3) or hot food takeaway (use class A5)
will require planning permission.
However, if the shop is only serving cold food with little or no
seating provision for consumption on the premises (such as a
sandwich bar), planning permission may not be required. Similarly,
permission may not be required if the majority of the premises
still remain in a shop (Class A1) use. The specific considerations
will have to be assessed on a case by case basis. For more detailed
advice contact
Planning Services.
7. Can my neighbour cut down a tree on
their property?
Your neighbour cannot carry out
works without prior consent to a tree that is protected. A tree is
protected if it is in a designated conservation area and/or if it
is subject to a tree preservation order. To find out if a tree has
a tree preservation order on it, you should contact Planning
Services. DCLG also produce a free leaflet called
'Protected trees: a guide to tree preservation
procedures'. Your neighbour can cut down, or carry out
works to any unprotected tree on private land.
See the section on
trees and hedges for more
information.
8. Can my neighbour run a
business from their house?
Many small businesses are started by people working in their homes
and this does not always require planning permission. Planning
permission is not required if the use of part of your home for
business purposes does not change the overall character of the
property as a single dwelling. For example, the use of a room as an
office for one of the residents of the house, or childminding in
line with the Government's standard recommended ratios, would be
unlikely to mean that the character of the dwelling-house had
changed and would not normally require planning permission.
If the business involves the following:
- more people visiting the property during the day/evening than
would normally be the case for residential use;
- uses that require employees to be present at the dwelling;
- uses that require business vehicles to be kept at the
site;
- deliveries taking place that are more frequent and involve
larger quantities of goods than is usual for a household;
- the use of a large part of your home for business activities,
such as offices, storage, and other commercial purposes (including
the use of sheds and garages);
- activities that are noisier than domestic use or produce fumes
that would not be expected from residential properties;
then planning permission is likely to be required.
If you are considering working from home you are strongly advised
to contact
Planning Services to get proper advice before
embarking on your enterprise. The DCLG produce a free
Guide for Businesses which can be obtained
directly from their web site or from our offices at Darby House.
Further guidance can also be obtained from the
Planning Portal.
9. Can my neighbour erect a
satellite dish on the front of their property, even if it is in a
conservation area?
In most cases, satellite dishes can be erected on a building
without planning permission, subject to various constraints.
However if the property is within a conservation area, the dish
must not front a highway. For detailed advice on the siting of
dishes you can visit the
Planning Portal website. or view the
DCLG guidance note.
10. How do I find out if my
neighbour has planning permission for the development being carried
out?
If you have the address of where the works are being
carried out, we can find out whether there are any planning
permissions which relate to the address. You can find out this
information by contacting
Planning Services.
11. How do I find out who owns my
neighbour's property or any plot of land, fence or
wall?
The planning department does not retain this information. You can
obtain this information by contacting the
Land Registry which is a government department
holding records of who owns land and property in England and Wales.
Our Asset & Property Management business unit can only tell you
if the land is owned by the Borough Council.
12. What can I do if my
neighbour is building an extension or wall and part of it will be
on my land?
If your neighbour is carrying
out building works that are on your land, you should seek legal
advice from a solicitor or the
Citizens Advice Bureau. Land disputes are a
civil matter and the Council cannot intervene unless the works
themselves require planning permission.
13. Who can help me if my
neighbour is carrying out works to a party wall?
Works to party walls are purely a civil matter controlled by the
Party Wall etc Act 1996 and the Council has no
enforcement power to intervene. You should contact a party wall
surveyor for advice in this matter.
14. Who can help me if my
neighbour's builders are working on Sundays and early/late during
the week?
If building works are occurring on the site outside of
normal working hours (8am-6pm Monday to Friday and 8am -1pm on
Saturdays) and are causing a noise nuisance, you should contact the
Council's environmental health unit.
15. Who can
help me if there is excessive noise, smell or other forms of
pollution being caused by activities at my neighbour's
property?
If activities at your neighbour's property are resulting in an
unacceptable level of noise, smell or other forms of pollution, you
should contact the
Council's Environmental Health unit. The
planning department cannot intervene in this instance unless an
unauthorised change of use has occurred. If a change of use has
occurred, the enforcement team can only address the use itself,
and not any resulting forms of pollution.
16. How do I find out if I need
permission to erect an advert on my business
premises?
The display of advertisements is governed by the Town and
Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations
1992.
Regulation 5 provides that no advertisement may be displayed
without consent granted by the local planning authority or by the
Secretary of State (called express consent). Express
consent requires an application to be made to the local
planning authority see
planning forms and notes.
There are a wide range of advertisements identified in Regulation 6
of the Advertisement Regulations that do not require local planning
authority consent. They are referred to as having deemed
consent.
The unauthorised display of advertisements is a criminal
offence subject on conviction to a maximum fine of £2500 per
advertisement.
It is therefore important that prior to erecting new advertisements
or altering existing ones that the advertiser has ensured that the
advertisements to be displayed benefit from deemed consent or have
the approval of the Local Planning Authority. If you want advice,
please contact
Planning Services. You will need to provide
information on the size of the sign, its proposed location, content
and method of illumination.
A booklet
'Outdoor Advertisements and Signs, A Guide For
Advertisers' is produced by the Department for
Communities and Local Government and copies can be obtained from
the Planning reception or on line from the odpm website.
17. What action will the Council
take in respect of flyposting?
Flyposting is the illegal and unauthorised placing of any
sign, poster or sticker advertising or promoting an event or
commercial activity on any street sign, public utility street
furniture, road verge, roundabout or on private premises.
It is the responsibility of the property owner to remove such items
fixed to private property. However, the Council does have powers to
get flyposting removed, including prosecution action.
If you wish to complain about flyposting, please contact one of the
Planning Enforcement Team. We will need to know the precise
location, the type of advertisement and what it is being
advertised. |