Rules allow councils more time to stop developments with no planning approval

New planning enforcement powers for councils to tackle rogue developers have now come into effect.

The new powers, under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act, include raising the length of enforcement limits from four to 10 years, allowing councils to have more time to stop developments with no planning approval.

Councils will also be able to issue unlimited fines against developers who do not adhere to planning permission or who refuse to deal with neglected properties or fields.

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Councils now have more time to stop work on those schemes which don’t have planning permission

The length of validity for temporary stop notices has also increased from 28 to 56 days. These notices allow councils to shut down operations on sites deemed to breach planning control.

Lee Rowley, minister for housing and planning: “We are clamping down on planning loopholes, allowing councils to issue unlimited fines, and strengthening local decisions that communities want to see.”

The Levelling up and Regeneration bill was passed into law last October and aims to improve the efficiency of the planning system, encourage councils to build more homes and hold developers to account.