Is it an offence to carry out development without planning permission?

It is not an offence to carry out development without planning permission. However, any unauthorised development is carried out at the developer's risk and the Council may take enforcement action either to demolish/remove the development or to alter it so that it becomes acceptable.

Breaches of planning control usually take one of the following forms:-

• A building is erected, extended or altered without planning permission;
• Work is carried out which does not comply with approved plans;
• Work is carried out in breach of a condition on the planning permission or other consent; or
• The use of a building or site is changed without planning permission;
• The use of the building or site does not comply with an ongoing requirement set by a planning condition.

In assessing possible breaches of planning control, the Council has to exercise a careful balance between the rights of the developer, user or owner of the land, the rights of neighbours and the wider public interest. The Council has to operate within the national legislation and policy guidance issued by Central Government, particularly in Planning Policy Guidance Note 18 (PPG18), which can be seen at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister website.

Useful forms and links can be found on the right hand side of this page.