Planning enforcement - Who can complain and what we do next

Who can complain?

Complaints can be received from anyone including residents, businesses, Councillors and Parish and Town Councils. We are unable to investigate anonymous complaints, however, we will treat your enquiry and personal details in confidence, unless the breach of planning control becomes the subject of formal legal action.

How to make your complaint?

To complain to us simply use this Complaint Form(link is external) and send this into us. Fields marked with an asterisk * are mandatory, we will be unable to process your complaint without the required information.

What happens to your complaint?

We will send you an acknowledgement to your complaint within 3 days and let you know the investigating officer and case reference number.

What is a breach of planning control?

A breach of planning control is defined in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as "the carrying out of a development without the required planning permission, or failing to comply with any condition or limitation subject to which planning permission has been granted". Examples of breaches of planning control:

• Building work, engineering operations and material changes of use, which are carried out without planning permission
• Development that has planning permission but is not carried out in accordance with the approved plans
• Failure to comply with conditions or the terms of a legal agreement attached to a permission or consent
• Demolition in conservation areas, without conservation area consent
• Works carried out to a "listed" building, without listed building consent being granted
  Removal of, or works carried out, to protected trees and hedgerows without consent being granted or proper notification given
• Advertisements which require express consent under the Advertisement Regulations, but are displayed without consent being granted