Unauthorised Developments
Where land is developed without planning permission or land occupied and developed with consent of the owner but without planning permission it is an unauthorised development and subject to enforcement.
Where land or property is developed without planning permission Mid Beds has a range of enforcement powers it can use.For example, it can issue a Temporary Stop Notice to stop any further development, which we do not have to go to court for, and the notice stops further development for 28 days.
If a temporary stop notice is breached the maximum penalty in the Magistrate’s Court is £20,000 and there is no upper limit which the Crown Court can impose on conviction.
Mid Beds can also issue an Enforcement Notice to stop the development on a longer term basis and to get the site put back to its previous condition. Again, we do not need to go to court for this. However, enforcement notices can be appealed against and an appeal suspends the effect of the notice.
Therefore Mid Beds would usually issue a stop notice at the same time as an enforcement notice to stop further development until the outcome of an appeal.
The council can also apply to the court for an injunction against someone to stop them from continuing with or beginning to carry out building work. An injunction can be got at any time. Anyone who fails to comply with an injunction is in contempt of court which could lead to a fine and imprisonment.
