Planning Enforcement Deadlines Extended
Earlier this month a piece of legislation entitled the Planning Act 2008 (Commencement No. 8) and Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (Commencement No. 4 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2024 came into force.
This is one of a handful of ‘commencing’ regulations that bring the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 (“LURA”) into effect.
A key part of LURA is the extension of the time within which a local authority can take enforcement action against unlawful development. Previously a distinction was made between “operational development” on one hand (a 4-year limit) and other unlawful development (a 10-year limit). Other development includes non-compliance with planning conditions or changes of use. LURA extends the deadline for enforcement against unlawful operational development to 10 years. The change applies to England only.
The regulations provide that this change to the enforcement deadlines will take effect from 25 April 2024.
Importantly, regulation 5 also provides that the extended time limit will only apply to operational development that has been substantially completed after 25 April 2024 – in pre-existing cases, the old time limits apply.
Other important changes coming into effect on 25 April 2024 include:
- The power for local planning authorities to issue Temporary Stop Notices for unauthorised works to a listed building;
- Extended duration of Temporary Stop Notices;
- A new power to issue Enforcement Warning Notices;
- New restrictions on appeals against Enforcement Notices;
- Increased penalties for non-compliance.
If you have a question about the application of these changes to your situation, or about planning enforcement generally, please get in touch with one of our team for specific advice.
