By Vivienne Russell | 12 January 2015
A £1m Planning Enforcement Fund has been created to help councils in England pay for legal action against developers who flout planning laws, the Department for Communities and Local Government has announced.
Councils will be able to apply for up to £10,000 per case to secure a court injunction. Over the past decade, local planning authorities have issued around 60 injunctions per year at an average cost of £13,000.
Communities secretary Eric Pickles said residents expected their council to take action against those who do not follow local planning rules.
‘Councils should not be afraid of using court injunctions for serious planning breaches and this new £1m enforcement fund gives councils extra resources in the fight against unauthorised development,’ he said.
‘The public rightly expects fair play in the planning system. Law-abiding residents follow the rules and obtain planning permission so they find it galling to see others who don’t. That’s why we set up this new fund to help councils act swiftly to stop unauthorised development.’
The fund will operate for the remainder of this financial year and all of next year. It will disburse £200,000 until March 2015, and £800,000 in 2015/16. Before March 2016, the government will review the fund and explore whether it can become self-funding.
Local authorities can apply for half their legal costs or up to £10,000, whichever is the lesser figure. The fund is administered by law firm Ivy Legal on behalf of DCLG.
Dave Westhead, chair of the Royal Town Planning Institute’s planning enforcement network, said the fund would help local authorities deal with breaches of control.
‘We welcome the recognition that the enforcement of planning controls is a vital and integral part of the planning function ensuring that policies and decisions are complied with, retaining the public trust in the planning system,’ he said.
