Investigation process
The purpose of the investigation of a breach of planning control is to collect all relevant facts including ownership, planning history of the land or building in order to establish whether a breach of planning control has occurred as a matter of fact and if so, the precise nature and degree of harm caused by that breach.
The investigation will, in most instances, involve an initial desktop exercise including:
- research of the planning history of the site;
- identification of any special designations or planning constraints e.g. listed buildings, tree preservation orders;
- where applicable, the search of other Council or publicly held information;
- speaking to the person responsible for the suspected breach;
- liaising with other Council departments and external agencies (where applicable).
Following a desktop exercise, planning enforcement officers will conduct a visit to the site which is the subject of the potential breach to take measurements and photographs and when a site visit will assist the Council in reaching a planning judgement.
To assist with their investigation the Council may serve a section 330 requisition for information, to require information about interests in land.
Where the required information relating to an alleged breach cannot be collected by the means referred to above or is not provided voluntarily from the person suspected of the breach, the Council will consider the issue of a Planning Contravention Notice requiring the recipient to provide information about the alleged breach of planning control.
The Council has certain legal rights of entry when investigating breaches of planning control under the provisions of the Act. These rights are exercised by planning and planning enforcement officers, duly authorised in writing by the Council, to enter land.
Powers of entry and associated powers, granted by national planning legislation, are important tools that facilitate the protection of the public from harm, enable the effective investigation of offences and allow for the necessary enforcement of the law.
Entry to land can be demanded as ‘of right’, however officers will aim to give reasonable notice of intended entry. When entry is required to a building used as a dwellinghouse, the Council must give not less than 24 hours’ notice of intended entry.
The Council may obtain a warrant from the Magistrates’ Court:
- if entry is refused;
- where no response is received by the Council to its notice of intended entry;
- in cases of urgency.
Planning enforcement officers will aim to ensure their site visits are thorough on the first time visit. However, it may be necessary to conduct repeat visits to ascertain if circumstances have changed or to check compliance
General observation forms part of the everyday activities relating to planning enforcement. Enforcement officers might overtly observe and then visit premises as part of their enforcement role. Such observation may also involve the use of equipment, merely to reinforce normal sensory perception, such as binoculars, or the use of cameras, where this does not involve systematic surveillance of an individual. Sometimes, in order to assess the nature or degree of harm caused, enforcement officers may also need to visit the complainant and/or adjoining neighbours. These general observations are not constrained by The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 200 (RIPA).
In some cases, enforcement officers may need to rely on complainants to collect evidence in the form of ‘daily diary sheets’. RIPA will not usually apply where complainants are asked to keep diaries of incidents relating to an alleged breach. However, in certain circumstances, a RIPA authorisation may be required.