Agenda item

The Development Management and Land Charges Manager presented the report to the Committee.

In May 2022, a review of the Local Enforcement Plan (Planning) (the ‘Plan’) was undertaken.  At that time, it was considered there had been little reason to amend or change the targets.  There had also been no changes to legislation to report.  Members had resolved that the same targets and priorities were maintained, alongside the 6 monthly report of performance to the Committee.

However, it was agreed that the Plan’s appearance be refreshed to reflect the Council’s branding and that it was prepared in an accessible format.

Since the 2022 update, there had been legislative changes, along with changes to staffing and practices, that had procedural implications and impact on the implementation of the Plan.  These were considered, in addition to service performance data, in the report.

Reporting had demonstrated that (with the exception of a few cases) all high priority cases had been visited within the target set in the Plan and more than 95% of low and medium priority cases had been visited within existing target periods.

It was not considered that the timeframes set for investigating breaches of planning control should be reduced as the department’s resources were limited, with the Council’s only dedicated Planning Enforcement Officer visiting the vast majority of sites.  If timeframes were to be reduced, greater resilience and investment in the service would be required.

No ombudsman complaints had been received since the adoption of the original Local Enforcement Plan (Planning) in 2019.  Having clearly defined service standards was considered to be a contributory factor in this indicator of customer satisfaction.

Following the resignation of the Principal Planning Enforcement Officer on the

18^th April 2024 (and difficulties recruiting into this position), a decision was taken to recycle this post and recruit an additional Principal Planner who, with the other Principal Planners within the Development Management Team and the Council’s Enforcement Officer, lead on planning enforcement cases requiring formal action to be taken.

This mini restructure had yielded high performance in terms of the amount of formal enforcement action taken post this decision, provided a renewed focus on service delivery and had introduced greater resilience.

The Assistant Director of Planning, Development Management and Land Charges Manager and the Principal Planners would decide what action should be taken when an investigation into a suspected breach of planning control had been completed.

It was not necessary to consult the Council’s Solicitors on all cases where formal planning enforcement action was to be commenced – as such decisions

relied on planning judgement.

The 4-year time limit for bringing enforcement action against building or engineering operations and changes of use to a single dwelling-house was removed.

The Plan had been amended to cover the new enforcement immunity periods.

Other legislative changes that effected the Plan included the extension to the expiration of a temporary stop notice.  Such notices now expired 56 days after the display of the notice on site (or any shorter period specified).  Where a temporary stop notice was issued before 25^th April 2024, the expiry time limit was 28 days.

The changes were reflected in the tracked changes to the Plan attached at Appendix 1.

Other changes of note included how Members would be involved.  The Plan currently advised that Ward Councillors would normally be informed before officers took formal action in respect of any suspected breach of planning control in their local area where the case was sensitive / contentious.  This usually involved the lead case officer circulating a copy of the delegated enforcement report to the relevant Ward Councillors for information / comment.

There were, however, instances where immediate action was required to prevent irreversible harm to the environment or to deal with high priority cases.  In such instances efforts would be made to contact Ward Councillors by telephone to inform them of intended action before it was taken.

In addition to the monitoring of performance in respect of visiting sites, it was also considered that providing details of the registerable formal notices served and sharing the outcome of any enforcement appeal decisions received over the 6-month reporting period was incorporated into the Plan (to allow Committee Members to monitor the effectiveness of the service).

To a question on enforcement action, the Development Management and Land Charges Manager informed staffing issues were detailed in the report and that there was greater resilience in the Planning Team with an increase in notices being despatched.  It was noted that the Council’s enforcement performance was comparable to other Derbyshire local authorities.

To a question on the future of enforcement with regards Local Government  Reorganisation and the role of the East Midlands Combined County Authority, the Development Management and Land Charges Manager informed all local authorities handled enforcement differently and the Interim Director of Planning, Devolution & Corporate Policy added all existing enforcement policies from all absorbed local authorities would continue for a time under any proposed unitary authority (until that new authority consolidated them into a single policy).

9 in favour

0 against

Moved by Councillor Tom Munro and seconded by Councillor Sally Renshaw

RESOLVED that Planning Committee resolve to adopt a September 2025 update of the Local Enforcement Plan (Planning), which incorporates the track changes set out at Appendix 1.