Length of time for enforcement

[Haveaniceday]

Hello, this is my first post.

I had a conservatory built at the beginning of 2007, over 10 years ago. It was built 2 meters longer that what I had planning permission for.

The question is this, after all this length of time would the local council still be able to take enforcement action or has too much time elapsed?

 

[motorbiking]

no - all things being equal, they are out of time

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/8/section/171B

 

[Haveaniceday]

Thanks for your reply. I've just read the act. I presume that it's 10 years in this case?

 

[tony1851]

Thanks for your reply. I've just read the act. I presume that it's 10 years in this case?

Nope, its 4 years, so you are well out of time.
Relax and have a cup of tea with a chocolate digestive.

(your case comes under paragraph (1)).

 

[Haveaniceday]

Relax and have a cup of tea with a chocolate digestive.

Lol.....if only I had a chocolate digestive!! I might have a cup of tea though!!

Funnily enough I also had a 2 storey extension to the side of my house built in 2005. I had planning permission for the top room to be a bedroom but the bottom room had to be a garage. After it was built I converted the "garage" into a bedroom. The council found out 5 years later and I had to reapply for planning permission (which was rejected and had to go to a planning committee vote which I won by 1 or 2 votes!)

I'm starting to wonder if that was a four year rule as well in which case I never needed to reapply?

 

[tony1851]

The council tried it on to get your application fee because it's the 4-year rule.
Presumably they were relying on paragraph (3) which is intended for changes of use for which the time limit is 10 years. But converting a domestic garage to a bedroom is not a 'change of use' within the meaning of the Act (it remains a dwelling).
(In contrast, had you - for example - run a car repair business from your garage, that would have been a change of use from residential to business).

 

[^woody^]

It's ten years for a beach of condition or a limitation.

 

[tony1851]

It's ten years for a beach of condition or a limitation.

IMO it comes under 171B(1) - para. (3) covers changes of use; no mention of breach of condition?
(If you could quote the specific wording, I'd be the first to hold my hand up and say " I was wrong").

 

[^woody^]

IMO it comes under 171B(1) - para. (3) covers changes of use; no mention of breach of condition?
(If you could quote the specific wording, I'd be the first to hold my hand up and say " I was wrong").

With almost every approval notice, there is a list of conditions/limitations.
"Samples of materials to be provided before work commences on site" is a common one which no-one ever does.

But "All work to be in full accordance with the submitted and approved plans. For the avoidance of doubt plan reference number xxxx" is a likely one to catch people out.

Not complying is a breach of condition.

 

[Haveaniceday]

So you are saying 10 years then Woody?

 

[^woody^]

It's potentially 10 years.

There are factors around the significance of conditions and limitations, and their relevance and validity, but the point is that its not as clear cut as is often touted.

 

[garyo]

Don't all approvals say "in accordance with submitted plans" so that'd mean that the 4 year rule would never apply other than in situations where something was built with no permission at all?

 

[^woody^]

Don't all approvals say "in accordance with submitted plans" so that'd mean that the 4 year rule would never apply other than in situations where something was built with no permission at all?

Maybe.

But there is also the concept that if [prior] conditions are not complied with, then the permission is deemed not to have been enacted in the first place - so this might revert any enforcement to the four-year limit.

It's all fact and degree, not necessarily clear-cut

 

[chappers]

conversion of a garage would come under the 10 year change of use, whereas a newly constructed room in the same place would come under the 4 year rule.
The 10 year rule only reverts to the 4 year rule above, if applying the 10 year rule would deem the change of use under the 10 year rule useless and make the development unusable. It would not apply in this case as despite the conversion the space could still be used as a garage. All be it a posh one(10 year rule would apply).
However a newly constructed room in the same place couldn't be treated like this as applying the 10 year rule for change of use from say garden to dwelling would make the building useless and so the 4 year rule would be reapplied.

 

[geraldthehamster]

Conversion of an attached garage isn't change of use, for the purposes of planning permission.