Report a planning breach

What the Council can do

The Council will aim to acknowledge your report within five working days of receiving it. You will be sent the name of the person dealing with the matter and the investigation will begin as soon as possible.

If the investigation shows there is no breach of planning control the Council will aim to tell you within one week of the investigation file being closed.

If the investigation shows there is a breach of planning control the Council may invite a planning application. This allows the Council to:

  • get full details of the work that has taken place
  • consult neighbours before making a decision

The Council will not invite an application where it is clear that permission will not be granted. Once an application has been submitted it will be treated like any other application. If an application is not submitted or if one is submitted and subsequently refused, the Council will decide whether or not an enforcement notice should be served. In some cases of unauthorised development, the Council may assess the harm and decide it is not necessary to pursue enforcement action, in which case no further action will be taken.

You will be told what course of action the Council decides to take.