If Westminster City Council has served you with a planning enforcement notice, it is important that you take professional advice. The notice will say what the council believes is wrong with your property and what it wants you to do about it. It may require you to remove an extension, alter a roof, stop using a property in a particular way or undo work that does not match the approved drawings.
You will have a limited time to appeal. The deadline is the date on which the notice takes effect. Once that date has passed, you will normally lose your right to challenge it.
Westminster is one of the most active planning enforcement authorities in the country. According to the latest government statistics, it issued 123 enforcement notices in the year to 31 March 2026 — more than two every week. That was the highest number in London and the third highest in England.
A notice is serious, but it does not follow that the council has got it right. Enforcement notices can be appealed, corrected, varied or quashed. In some cases, planning permission can be granted for the work or use that the council wants removed.
Planning enforcement across Westminster
Westminster is quite a varied area, combining the busiest parts of central London with some of the city’s quieter suburbs.
The West End, Soho, Covent Garden and Mayfair contain a dense mixture of homes, shops, restaurants, offices and hotels. Enforcement cases there often involve changes of use, shopfronts, air-conditioning equipment, extraction ducts, opening hours and work carried out differently from the approved plans.
Further north and west, Westminster includes mainly residential neighbourhoods such as Maida Vale, Queen’s Park, St John’s Wood, Bayswater, Westbourne and Harrow Road. In these areas, enforcement notices are more likely to concern familiar householder development: extensions, dormers, roof alterations, outbuildings, balconies, terraces and the conversion of properties into flats.
Pimlico and parts of Marylebone combine both types of development, with houses, mansion blocks, estates and commercial premises sitting close together.
Westminster also deals with large numbers of short-term letting cases and takes a particularly strict approach to unauthorised work to listed buildings. Those are important parts of its workload, but they are far from the only reasons it serves enforcement notices.
What might lead to an enforcement notice?
A notice may be served because work was carried out without planning permission. It can also be served where permission was granted but the work was not built in accordance with the approved drawings.
Common examples include:
- a rear or side extension that is larger than the approved scheme;
- a dormer or roof extension built without permission;
- an outbuilding that is too large or is being used as a separate home;
- a house or flat divided into additional residential units;
- two homes combined into one without permission;
- a roof terrace, balcony or privacy screen added without approval;
- a commercial property being used for a different purpose;
- air-conditioning units, extraction equipment or ductwork installed without permission;
- failure to comply with restrictions on opening hours, noise or the use of a property; and
- work affecting a conservation area or listed building.
Sometimes the difference between the approved plans and what has been built appears quite small. A change in height, depth, materials, window position or roof design can still lead to enforcement action, particularly where neighbours have complained.
The council does not have to serve a notice simply because it finds a breach. It must decide that formal action is justified. If the development would have received permission, or a relatively small alteration would deal with the council’s concerns, there may be scope to negotiate.
Can you appeal against a Westminster enforcement notice?
There are seven legal grounds of appeal. You do not need to use all of them, and doing so can make a good case look unfocused.
Depending on the facts, an appeal might argue that:
- planning permission should be granted;
- the development described in the notice did not take place;
- the work or use did not require planning permission;
- the council is too late to take enforcement action;
- the notice was not served correctly;
- the council is requiring more work than is necessary; or
- more time should be allowed for compliance.
For example, Westminster may require the complete demolition of an extension when a smaller alteration would be enough. It may allege that a property has been divided into flats when the evidence shows that it remains in use as one home. It may overlook permitted development rights or misunderstand when work was completed.
An enforcement appeal is different from an ordinary planning appeal. The wording of the notice must be examined carefully, the correct grounds must be chosen and each argument must be supported by the right evidence.
You can read more in our guide to the seven grounds of appeal against an enforcement notice.
Do not ignore the notice
If no appeal is made, the notice will take effect. You must then carry out the required work within the stated compliance period.
Failure to comply is a criminal offence. Westminster can prosecute the owner or other responsible person, and the notice will remain registered against the property. That can cause serious problems when the property is sold or remortgaged.
An appeal normally suspends the requirements of the notice until the Planning Inspectorate has made its decision. It therefore provides an opportunity to challenge the council’s case before any irreversible work has to be carried out.
How Just Planning can help
Just Planning specialises in planning enforcement notices and appeals.
We advise homeowners, landlords, businesses and small developers. We can review the notice, check the planning history, identify the available grounds of appeal and explain whether you should appeal, negotiate with Westminster or pursue another route.
If an appeal is justified, we can prepare and submit it for you, assemble the necessary planning and factual evidence and deal with Westminster and the Planning Inspectorate throughout the process.
If you have received an enforcement notice from Westminster City Council, send it to us as soon as possible. We will review it for free, give you an honest initial view and quote a fixed fee if you would like us to take the case forward.
