Enforcement Investigations

How Investigations Work

Undertaking Planning Enforcement Investigations

Mid Beds District Council seeks to provide an effective planning service and improve the local environment through our development plan.  Each year members of the public, town and parish councils and other organisations raise concerns over several hundred sites where development may have taken place without planning permission.  The following will explain how we investigate these complaints and how we keep those making a complaint in touch with our investigation.  Mid Beds has also produced a guide to planning decisions enforcement, available upon request.

How to raise your concern

Our enforcement team can be contacted by letter, telephone, fax, e-mail, completing the online enforcement complaints form or by talking to an enforcement officer. Contact details are shown below.

All concerns are treated in confidence but we may need to contact you for further information and to discuss your concerns.  This will assist our investigation so please do not make anonymous complaints.

Our standards:

  • All letters will be acknowledged within ten working days
  • We will give you the name of the assigned case officer
  • We will give you a case number for your complaint
  • An enforcement officer may make a site visit and may also need to visit your property
  • Within three weeks we will advise you on the progress of our investigation                   

What happens next?

Many investigations are resolved through discussion.  It may be that planning permission is not required for the development or that a retrospective planning application is made to seek to retain the development.

If planning permission is required we might invite the submission of a planning application - this does not mean we  will grant planning permission and we may take formal action whilst the application is being prepared.

If an application is submitted you will be able to comment on the application in the usual way, including speaking at the meeting (see our leaflet "Have Your Say - Speaking at Planning Meetings")

If it is decided that the development is harmful in planning terms an Enforcement Notice may be served.  This may require building work underway to cease, a completed development to be removed or the use of land or a building for an unpermitted purpose to cease.

How long will an investigation take?

Mid Beds follows statutory regulations during its enforcement investigations but the time to fully investigate a complaint varies according to the nature of the unauthorised development.  Some investigations can take several months to resolve, particularly if an appeal is lodged against an Enforcement Notice.  Mid Beds does prioritise enforcement investigations to tackle problems causing obvious harm to the local environment.

Keeping you informed

If you have contacted Mid Beds you will be told of any of the following events:

  • The submission of a planning application
  • The issuing of an Enforcement Notice
  • The lodging of an appeal against a Mid Beds decision
  • The final resolution of the issue                   

Feel free to contact the case officer to ask about the current situation at any time.

The Enforcement Register of Notices from 2002 is available on line through the Planning Documents Search page

How to contact us

The Enforcement Team is based at:

Priory House, Monks Walk, Chicksands, Beds SG17 5TQ
East Team:  08458 495 365
West Team:  08458 495 487
email:  customer.services@midbeds.gov.uk
website:  www.midbeds.gov.uk

Our offices are open:

8.45am - 5pm Monday to Thursday and 8.45am to 3.30pm on Friday.

Our Administration staff are available during office hours and can assist with general planning enquiries.  An officer is available to deal with more complicated planning issues.