Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what actions are available to local authorities to take steps to mitigate planning blight.

The Government has provided various tools for local authorities to mitigate against incomplete developments or rundown sites. Most notably, Section 215 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (the Act) provides a local planning authority (LPA) with the power in respect of land in their area to take remedial steps by serving a notice on the owner and occupier, when the condition of that land adversely affects the amenity of part of their, or an adjoining area. The notice should provide a clear timeframe for compliance and clearly particularise the remedial work that must be undertaken.

The scope of works that can be required in S215 notices is wide and includes planting, clearance, tidying, enclosure, demolition, re-building, external repairs and repainting. Any works specified by a notice need to be compliant and not lead to any breaches of planning control.

The use of Section 215 is discretionary, and an LPA should decide whether a notice under these provisions would be appropriate in a particular case, taking into account all the local circumstances. LPAs also have powers under Section 219 of the Act to undertake the remedial works themselves and to recover the costs from the landowner.

In addition, planning blight notices are a statutory mechanism available to owner-occupiers of dwellings who cannot sell their property except for a significantly reduced amount because it falls within one of the categories of 'planning blight' set out in Schedule 13 to the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. If such a notice is confirmed, the owner can require the public body behind the scheme to acquire the premises at open market value in the absence of the scheme.

More information on blight notices in relation to Compulsory Purchase Orders can be found on Gov.uk.