About planning enforcement

Report a breach of planning permission

You can report a breach of planning control to us, which we will investigate and issue an enforcement notice if required.

This includes:

  • building or engineering works that do not have planning permission
  • change of use of land or buildings that does not have planning permission
  • failure to comply with planning conditions attached to a planning permission
  • unauthorised works to listed buildings
  • unauthorised works to protected trees
  • untidy land or buildings which are harming the appearance of the local area
  • unlawful display of advertisements

You can find more information about breaches of planning permission on the Planning Portal. 

Report a breach of planning permission

We cannot investigate anonymous reports of planning breaches or those reports that are only made by phone. We do not investigate:

  • Reports of planning breaches where non-planning concerns are motivating the enquiry
  • Reports that do not relate to planning matters, for example boundary disputes
  • Reports that have already been dealt with

What happens next

Once an enquiry has been received via the online form, an officer will be appointed to review the case and will be in touch with you if further information is required.

You will be provided with a reference number when you submit the online form.

We will then carry out a desktop assessment. We will not proceed with the investigation if:

  • no breach has been identified
  • we have investigated and resolved the breach
  • the development benefits from permitted development or consent has been sought
  • the development or activity has not yet taken place

You will be informed if we do not proceed beyond this time.

If we create a case for investigation, we will carry out an initial site visit and follow the approved practice set out in our Local Enforcement Plan. This provides an explanation of how the planning enforcement process operates and the timescales.

We will tell you the outcome of our investigation. If our investigation carries on for a longer period of time, we will keep you up to date at the key stages.