Rehman Chishti
Main Page: Rehman Chishti (Conservative - Gillingham and Rainham)
Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)
4. What plans he has to increase the powers of local authorities to tackle unauthorised development.
Gavin Williamson (South Staffordshire) (Con)
7. What plans he has to increase the powers of local authorities to tackle unauthorised development.
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Eric Pickles)
The Government take the problem of unauthorised development very seriously. Strong powers already exist to enable local planning authorities to take action. Provisions in the Localism Act 2011 will strengthen local planning authorities’ powers to tackle the issue, and will come into force on 6 April this year.
Rehman Chishti
I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. Planning appeals are costly and bureaucratic, which does not encourage the local planning authority to pursue breaches, and the process frustrates both the community and elected representatives alike. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to address this problem?
Mr Pickles
The new Localism Act makes five substantial changes. The first, and most obvious, is that it will no longer be possible to appeal an enforcement and make a retrospective planning application at the same time. Secondly, the issue of permission being granted when there has been concealment beyond the normal period will be addressed, so that, for instance, if somebody builds a bungalow behind a haystack, the fact that it has been there for longer than three years will make no difference in respect of enforcement. We will also be able to offer letters of comfort to landowners who are not involved in unauthorised action, and we are increasing penalties—and we are increasing penalties with regard to fly-posting and unauthorised advertising, too.