Breach of Condition Notices

If you fail to comply with a condition in a planning permission partially or completely, you may receive a Breach of Condition Notice from your local planning authority. This will need careful attention and prompt action to ensure that it does not have a major impact on your development.

What is a Breach of Condition notice?

A breach of condition notice may be served by a local planning authority if you have done something in breach of a condition attached to a grant of planning permission.

In terms of how it relates to you, we will in look at it from a planning point of view, and discuss what needs to be done if you have been issued with a breach of condition notice. There is a range of possible actions to take depending on your circumstance - obtaining advice from a solicitor is often the first course of action for people unsure of their situation.

Put simply in planning terms, a breach of condition occurs when you fail to comply with a condition in your planning permission document either fully or partially. There are a number of reasons this can occur, but being issued with a notice can be costly and set your development back immeasurably. A breach of condition notice usually has to be complied with without delay. The notice will specify the timeframe for compliance, so it is important to read the terms of the notice carefully and seek advice.

What are the Consequences?

Failure to comply with a breach of condition notice usually has financial as well as logistical consequences. It is an offence, and you may be prosecuted in the magistrates’ court.

A notice can be served on any person who is carrying or has carried out the development in question, or anyone who has control of the land the development is being or has been built on. This party will be called “the person responsible”.

What Actions Can I Take?

When you are faced with a breach of condition notice, it must specify a compliance period in which the person responsible must comply. The period for compliance must be not less than 28 days beginning with the date of service of the notice.

Immediate advice from an expert planning solicitor such as Kingsley Smith Solicitors is imperative. Occasionally, it’ll be possible to vary, omit or even withdraw the condition in order to continue the proposed development - however there are many issues to avoid and difficulties to be aware of. Importantly, there is no right of appeal against a breach of condition notice (unlike for other types of notice in planning law), so sometimes the only remedy is to bring a claim for judicial review of the notice in the High Court. This is something we can advise you about.

Consequences Of A Breach Of Planning Condition

The Breach of Condition Notice is served on the person responsible for causing the breach, usually the developer, or on the person with control of the land. Failure to comply with the notice can lead to a fine being charged on a daily basis, therefore, costs can soon mount up.

What Action Should You Take?

If you have been served with a Breach of Condition Notice it is essential to consider urgently the means of complying with the notice. Unless you are experienced, there are many pitfalls for you to avoid but it may be possible to vary or omit the condition from the planning permission in order to resolve the problem and allow you to continue with the development.

We can provide you with immediate advice concerning Breach of Condition Notices. Let us guide you.

Please call us on 01634 811 118, complete our online enquiry form, or email our planning law expert Nicholas Kingsley-Smith.

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