Planning enforcement success for Buckinghamshire Council

Democracy and Local Affairs, Planning

Buckinghamshire Council has issued the highest number of planning enforcement notices outside of London according to the latest national data. A planning enforcement notice is issued when an individual or developer is found to be in breach of planning control – it might be that someone has carried out works without planning permission when it was needed, or that they’ve done something that wasn’t within the granted permissions.

 

The number has been revealed in a government table recently released to show how councils performed during 2021/22.

 

It’s a key priority for Buckinghamshire Council to clamp down on breaches of planning control – the process exists to make sure any work or development is appropriate and legal within nationally set planning laws. In Buckinghamshire we’re serving notices and taking early action against any breaches of planning control which is part of the reason we’re standing out for taking action. The aim is to intervene at the earliest opportunity to seek a remedy for the planning breach as quickly as we can.

 

Buckinghamshire Council has also served the highest number of ‘breaches of condition’ notices in the whole country – this is where individuals or developers have failed to adhere to conditions set out when planning permission for their project was granted.

 

Councillor Peter Strachan is Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration. He said:

 

“Clamping down on planning breaches was a key manifesto commitment and this record clearly shows we’re delivering on this. It’s essential that anyone carrying out works or a project that falls under planning rules is familiar with the process and gets all the necessary permissions.

 

I’m really proud of our overall performance where planning is concerned; we manage around 13,000 planning applications a year and where we find a breach, we will act on it. We are continuing to increase the formal actions we take, and pleasingly, we are also continuing to see an increase in case resolutions.”