Enforcement

Contact 0845 3708090 to report a possible breach of minerals and waste planning control. 

You can also report a potential breach of County Council Minerals and Waste planning permission, planning conditions or unauthorised development using our online form. 

For other planning applications please contact the relevant district authority.

Visit BucksPlanning to view current Enforcement action against a particular case, or search via Parish and Ward.

Our responsibilities

We are responsible for investigating reported breaches of minerals and waste planning control, identifying those breaches which are unacceptable in planning terms and taking appropriate action to ensure development control decisions are adhered to and any harm to amenity is minimised. Your district council is responsible for clearing rubbish tipped at the side of the road. The Environment Agency is responsible for managing the pollution risks associated with waste tipping.

We can only take action when the reported activity would be unlikely to be granted planning permission. However, if the person responsible is not prepared to resolve the matter in a reasonable timescale then formal enforcement action will be taken to deal with the problem. Such action is taken in the public interest to protect the amenity of residents and the environment of Buckinghamshire.

Residents and business responsibilities

Should you wish to check if a person or company is registered as a waste carrier, or for details of authorised waste sites, please call the Environment Agency on 08708 506 506.

Find out more about illegal dumping costs.

Unauthorised developments may include

• Tipping of waste on land
• Extraction of minerals
• Storage and sorting of waste, eg the storage of skips loaded with waste

Breaches of planning conditions may include

• Sites operating outside of permitted times
• Lorries depositing mud on roads when they leave a site
• Tipping of waste above the approved levels
• Sites not being properly restored

You can also contact your Parish or district council or local councillor who will pass your comments onto us.

What action can we take?

We will usually try to resolve a planning problem through voluntary agreement with the people responsible. If negotiation fails to resolve the problem we have powers to take the following enforcement action:

Planning contravention notice

Served on landowners/operators to obtain information about a suspected breach of planning control. The information provided is used to decide whether further action is required. Failure to reply to the notice can lead to a fine of up to £1,000 upon conviction.

Breach of condition notice

Requires an operator/landowner to comply with planning permission conditions which they have breached. There is no right of appeal and failure to comply could result in prosecution and a £1,000 fine for each offence.

Enforcement notice

Used when a serious breach of planning control has occurred. The person served with the notice has 30 days to appeal against the notice. An appeal is heard by an independent Inspector. If the appeal is dismissed or no appeal is made then failure to comply with the requirements of the notice will usually result in prosecution and the maximum fine is £20,000 for each offence.

Stop notice

Issued with an enforcement notice to require a particularly harmful activity e.g. waste disposal, to cease. There is no right of appeal but if an enforcement notice appeal is made then the merits of the stop notice may be considered. Non compliance with a stop notice is an offence which carries a maximum fine of £20,000.

Injunction

This is sought in the County or High Court to restrain persons from carrying out or continuing to breach planning controls. The contravention of an Injunction Order is a Contempt of Court and the Court can levy an unlimited fine or impose a custodial sentence.

Direct action

As a last resort if a person continues to or cannot comply with the requirements of a notice we can enter the land and undertake works in compliance with a notice. The cost would then be charged to the landowner, but in many cases would have to be borne by the Council at least in the short term.

Enforcement service standards

Customers reporting breaches

1. Your identity will always be confidential unless the circumstances of the case make confidentiality impossible.
2. You will be given the name of the officer dealing with your report and an explanation of the planning situation based on your information.
3. When your report has been investigated you will be advised of what action is proposed or if no action is to be taken why this is the case. This stage of action will normally take no more than 6 weeks.
4. At each stage of further action you will be contacted in writing or by telephone to advise you of the action taken and what is likely to happen next.

Customers responsible for possible breaches

1. Officers investigating a report are looking for the facts and will only state that a breach has occurred when this is proven on site.
2. Our officers have a legal right to enter land to investigate reported breaches. These rights will be explained to landowners wherever possible.
3. We will, in most cases, write to you when a breach of control is substantiated and ask you to remedy the breach voluntarily in a reasonable timescale.
4. If you do not co-operate with us you will be advised that enforcement action is likely to be taken.
5. At each stage of formal enforcement action we may, if appropriate, seek to offer you alternatives which will avoid time consuming and often costly appeals or prosecution proceedings.
6. Officers will seek to ensure that you are left in no doubt as to your responsibility to remedy the breach of control.

Customers affected by breaches

1. The local councillor and parish council will be contacted as early as possible in the investigation of a substantiated breach of control so that they are aware of the action being taken.
2. When an enforcement notice is to be served the local councillor and parish council will be advised so that they may inform local residents.
3. Local people will be informed of enforcement notice appeals so that they can make representations to the Inspector.
4. All local residents can contact the responsible officer for an update on the case and a site visit could be arranged in certain circumstances.