Planning Enforcement Consultant, Norfolk and East of England | Silverback Planning

Had a letter or notice from the council's enforcement team? Advice from a chartered planner who has led council enforcement teams. Don't wait: deadlines are short.

A letter from the council's enforcement team? Call me before you reply.

Enforcement deadlines are short, and what you say in your first reply can shape everything that follows. The sooner I’m involved, the more options you keep.

Why I’m different

I have led council enforcement teams, given evidence in the courts and spoken at the National Planning Enforcement Forum. I know how councils decide whether to take action, how notices are drafted, and where they go wrong.

Many breaches happen by accident: a window slightly different from the approved plans, a use that grew over time, a builder who didn’t check. My job is to find the quickest, cheapest way to resolve it, and to challenge the council firmly when its action is wrong.

What has changed

The time limits for immunity are now longer. For breaches in England after 25 April 2024, the council generally has 10 years to take action against any breach. Before that date, building work and the change of a building to a house became immune after 4 years. If your breach began before 25 April 2024, the old 4-year rule may still protect you, and the evidence of exactly when it started becomes critical.

Councils have new powers. An enforcement warning notice can require you to apply for planning permission within a set time, or face formal action. Recent reforms also limit the chances to argue the planning merits more than once, so the choice between a retrospective application and an appeal matters more than it used to.

Deliberate breaches count against you. National policy now gives substantial weight against development that was carried out intentionally without permission. How the history is presented can decide the outcome.

How I can help

Early advice. Is it actually a breach? Is it already lawful or immune? Is action likely?
Talking to the council. I deal with the enforcement officer for you, often heading off a formal notice altogether.
Certificates of lawfulness. If time has run out for the council, I build the evidence to prove it.
Retrospective applications. Where permission is likely, I prepare an application designed to succeed first time.
Enforcement appeals. I assess every available ground, from “planning permission should be granted” to “the notice is defective” and “the time limit has passed”, and present the appeal.
Expert evidence. I give planning evidence at hearings, inquiries and in court, and can instruct a barrister directly where a case needs one.

Time limits

Enforcement notice: your appeal must reach the Planning Inspectorate before the date the notice takes effect, which can be as little as 28 days after it is served. Miss it and the right to appeal is lost.
Breach of condition notice: there is no right of appeal, so early advice is essential.
Stop notice: these can take effect within days.

Failing to comply with an enforcement notice is a criminal offence, with an unlimited fine.

Get in touch now

Send me a copy of the letter or notice and a short note of what has happened. I’ll reply within one working day and tell you where you stand.

Do Not Delay

*There is a much shorter window in which to appeal Enforcement Notices than other planning matters

Get the Planning Support You Deserve Schedule Your Consultation Now!

Confronting Planning Enforcement. Powerfully.

Testimonial

Client Feedback and Reviews.

Mark Turner is an extremely able planning officer and one of the best public inquiry witnesses in the business. He has a deep grasp of and enthusiasm for his subject, which translates into real attention to detail within written planning evidence. His presentational skills are excellent and he presents compIex planning arguments at hearings and inquiries with flare and conviction.

I first worked with Mark almost 20 years ago when I was a very junior barrister and he was an enforcement officer at Slough BC. Since then he has risen up through the ranks and we have kept in touch. We worked together over the last couple of years on significant planning enforcement matters arising in Great Yarmouth. He is an outstanding planning and enforcement officer. He combines a deep understanding of these two areas with an ability to quickly see the wood for the trees. I am sure that he will make a success of private practice and be an asset to any client who instructs him.

I was having my usual battle with the council who were refusing to grant planning permission for an extension on my house. Mark came into his own, fighting for me in my appeal. The end result was a very comprehensive and well thought out set of documents, that showed off all the errors in the council’s decision, and demonstrated how little my extension would affect anybody who lived anywhere near me. Basically, I live in the middle of nowhere, and it’s virtually impossible to see my house from any angle. So, what their problem was, I don’t know, but I think it was something to do with me. The planning inspector completely agreed with everything that had been put forward, almost quoting Mark word for word in her decision. Mark stayed in touch after the decision to make sure the builders could get straight on with the work. He was a great help to me, during a very frustrating time in my life.

Mark offers vast experience in planning from both sides of the fence. He is a first rate planner who can be trusted to get it right.