skip to main content
Planning

Planning

Breaches of Planning Control & Enforcement

We investigate and enforce against unacceptable breaches of planning control.

What are breaches of planning control?

Breaches of planning control include: 

What is development?

Development means carrying out building, engineering or other operations or making a material change in the use of buildings or land (which includes land covered by water).

Does all development need planning permission?

Landowners can carry out some types of development without needing to apply to us (as the Local Planning Authority) for planning permission. This type of development is known as ‘permitted development’. Further information on permitted development rights for householders is available on the Planning Portal and our Do I Need Planning Permission? page.

Permitted development rights for other, non-household, uses are set out in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015. 

Are breaches of planning control criminal offences?

A small number of breaches of planning control are criminal offences. These include unauthorised: 

  • work to listed buildings

  • work to a tree with a Tree Preservation Order

  • demolition of buildings or structures in a conservation area

  • work to trees in a conservation area

  • advertisements.

 We will consider the merits of each case when deciding whether to prosecute. 

What happens if development is carried out without planning permission?

In most cases, it is not a criminal offence to carry out development without first obtaining any necessary planning permission.

The work or use will be unauthorised, but not illegal, and is carried out at the developer's risk.

Legislation allows for breach of planning control to be regularised through the planning process where appropriate/possible.

Who can make an enforcement report?

Anyone can make a report, but we do not accept anonymous reports. All reports are treated as confidential.

What do I need to check before I make a complaint?

If you are concerned about a development, you can check our Public Access system to see if permission has been granted and if there are any conditions attached to it. 

Check Planning Decisions

We cannot investigate:

  • neighbour disputes

  • works to party walls

  • encroachment or boundary disputes

  • breaches/works or uses that have not yet occurred.

How do I make a report?

If you think there may have been a breach of planning control, the easiest way to report it is online. Please provide as much information as possible to assist with our investigation, this includes the exact location and photographs.

Report a Breach of Planning Control

 You can also report a breach by emailing planning.enforcement@huntingdonshire.gov.uk, calling 01480 388369, by post or in person. 

If you think that an investigation is urgently needed to prevent an offence being committed, or to gather evidence, please contact us by telephone if possible. 

What happens next?

After receiving a report we will: 

  • send an acknowledgement to the reporter, within three working days of receiving the report, with contact details of the Planning Enforcement Officer who will be dealing with the case

  • carry out a site visit when appropriate

  • consider every case carefully and decide what action could be taken

  • update the reporter on the outcome of our investigation in due course.

What if someone makes a complaint about my property?

If someone makes a report about your property, you may be contacted by a member of our Planning Enforcement Team. The officer will carry identification when visiting your property. You should provide as much information as possible to enable the officer to decide whether there is a breach of planning control. Quick responses to correspondence will help to speed up the process.

What actions can the council take?

 Planning enforcement powers are discretionary. Our main options are:

1. Take no formal action

We may decide not to take formal action if we consider that a breach of planning control is acceptable in planning terms and the property owner or occupier remedies the breach voluntarily.

Enforcement action should be proportionate to the breach of planning control, so we may also decide not to take formal action when:

  • a breach is trivial or technical and causes no significant harm

  • the development is acceptable on its planning merits and formal enforcement action would be taken solely to regularise the development.

We may not be able to take enforcement action, or we may take a course of action that you do not agree with.  We can only take enforcement action if the breach of planning control is causing significant harm. 

2. Invite a retrospective application

We will often invite a retrospective application if we consider the development may be granted planning permission. We also invite applications when planning conditions may need to be imposed.

3. Take enforcement action

Our main consideration when deciding to take enforcement action is whether the breach of planning control unacceptably affects the public interest.

When can enforcement action be taken?

 Unauthorised works and uses become immune from enforcement action after the following time periods: 

 Scroll for more
Unauthorised Works and Uses Time Period

Building, engineering and other operations 

10 years

Where there is a change of use from a building to a dwelling 

10 years

All other changes of use 

10 years

Breaches of planning conditions 

10 years

There is no immunity for unauthorised works to listed buildings or protected trees, and advertisements.

Please note that on 25 April 2024, the immunity time period changed for building, engineering and other operations' category, and also for change of use from a building to a dwelling category, from 4 years to 10 years. 

What is the council's policy on planning enforcement?

Planning enforcement is carried out in line with our Corporate Enforcement Policy.

Related Links