Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to strengthen local authority powers to enforce planning conditions and take action against unauthorised developments.

Local planning authorities already have a wide range of enforcement powers, with strong penalties for non-compliance.

Where a local planning authority thinks that a condition imposed on a planning permission has not been met, they can serve a breach of condition notice which requires the recipient to remedy the breach within a specified time. There is no appeal against such a notice and failure to comply with it is an offence punishable by an unlimited fine.

An enforcement notice can be served against any breach of planning control – where there is no planning permission for development or the terms of a permission (including a condition) have been breached.