What can happen next?
Enforcement Notices are legal documents and will include within them: details of the alleged breach, the reasons for the notice, steps to be undertaken to remedy the breach, and a timeframe for completion.
These notices can be appealed (within 28 days of service) and if appealed, cases are held in abeyance pending the appeal outcome.
The appeal process is independent and administered by the planning inspectorate and the council will robustly defend decisions to issue notices.
It is a criminal offence not to comply with a notice once the period for compliance has elapsed and there is no outstanding appeal.
The council has powers of prosecution and direct action.
The council will then consider prosecution proceedings in such cases to secure compliance.
To proceed to prosecution there must be:
- Sufficient admissible evidence; and
- Public interest
The council also has powers to enter land, undertake the requirements of the notice in default and recover its costs if it is considered expedient to do so. These direct-action powers can be used when other methods to secure compliance with a notice have failed and the issues of harm identified remain.