Just Planning recently persuaded Enfield, Hounslow, Hillingdon & Ealing councils to withdraw enforcement notices. How?
Councils have the power to serve an enforcement notice if they believe that a development or change of use has been carried out without planning permission. They may also serve a notice if a development had planning permission but the permission was not implemented properly, or planning conditions were not complied with.
What should I do if I receive an enforcement notice?
Act quickly. You normally have 28 days to appeal against the notice. If you do not appeal in time, the notice takes effect and you must carry out its requirements — which may mean demolishing part of your home or stopping a use that has been in place for years.
Above all, do not ignore the enforcement notice.
Just Planning can submit and manage the appeal on your behalf. If you have received a notice, contact us now for a free initial assessment before the deadline passes.
Can you persuade the council to withdraw the notice?
Yes — but it requires a professional and well-evidenced approach.
Councils will not usually discuss withdrawal until you have submitted an appeal. They are also very unlikely to withdraw the notice if you have not appealed in time, or if the appeal has already failed. But once an appeal has been submitted, a window opens. The question is whether you can persuade the enforcement officer that proceeding with the appeal is not worth the risk.
Enforcement appeals are expensive, stressful and time-consuming for all parties — including the council. Officers know this. If you make a strong, professional submission backed by convincing evidence, the council must weigh the cost and risk of proceeding against the prospect of losing at appeal and potentially having to pay your costs.
How do you build a persuasive case?
The councils most likely to withdraw a notice are those who can be shown, clearly and credibly, that they will lose at appeal. The key is to produce an evidence pack that makes that case before the appeal hearing takes place.
Depending on the circumstances, that evidence might include a detailed planning argument that permission should be granted for the development, evidence that the development is immune from enforcement action because of the passage of time, sworn statements from neighbours, family members or other witnesses about when works were carried out or how a property has been used, or a technical argument that the alleged breach has not actually taken place, or that what has happened does not amount to a breach of planning control at all.
The strongest cases combine all of these where possible. The goal is to put the council in a position where withdrawing the notice is clearly the more sensible course of action.
Recent cases where Just Planning persuaded a council to withdraw
1 Longfield Avenue, Enfield. Our client had erected a dwelling without planning consent. We submitted an appeal and a date was set for a public inquiry. In the interim, we produced a detailed evidence pack arguing that the development was immune from enforcement action. The council was persuaded that they would lose the appeal and withdrew the notice before the inquiry took place.
35 St Michael’s Avenue, Enfield. Our client had converted his property into two dwellings. We appealed the enforcement notice and again a date was set for a public inquiry. We produced a comprehensive evidence pack making the case that the council’s position was not sustainable. The notice was withdrawn.
Springvale Avenue, Hounslow. Our client had converted a large outbuilding into living accommodation for his adult son. Before an enforcement notice was served, we submitted a retrospective planning application. The council took almost a year to refuse it and then served an enforcement notice. We redoubled our efforts, gathering sworn statements from neighbouring residents and family members, and passing the full evidence pack to the enforcement team. The officer was ultimately persuaded that there had been no breach of planning control, and the notice was withdrawn.
In each of these cases, the crucial factor was not the appeal itself but the quality of the evidence and argument we produced alongside it.
What if the council will not withdraw?
If the council decides to proceed, the appeal continues to the Planning Inspectorate, which is entirely independent of the council. An independent inspector will consider all the evidence and make a decision.
Just Planning submits dozens of planning enforcement appeals every year and wins a large number of them. Even where withdrawal is not achieved, a well-prepared appeal gives you the best possible chance of a successful outcome at the Inspectorate.
Get free initial advice
If you have been served an enforcement notice, or are facing an enforcement investigation, contact us now for free initial advice. Send us a copy of the notice and we will review it, explain your options and advise on the best way forward.
