Highland Council approves revised Planning Enforcement Charter

The Planning, Environment and Development Committee of the Highland Council today (15th May) approved a revised version of the Planning Enforcement Charter which details the Council’s statement of enforcement policy and procedure for dealing with breaches of planning control.

The Highland Council has powers to enforce planning controls in cases where they have been breached, such as when development is carried out without planning permission, conditions of a planning permission or original plans are not complied with, or unauthorised work is conducted on Listed Buildings or protected trees.

The Charter advises customers of:

• The powers available to the Planning Service in dealing with enforcement matters

• The Council’s policies covering enforcement action

• Guiding principles and service standards

• How to report a possible breach of planning control

• Locations of contact points

• How to make a complaint about the service, and

The Council’s procedure for dealing with such a complaint

The Charter has been reduced from the 20-page version produced in August 2010, to a new streamlined 12-page document which will be published on the internet, made available through public libraries in the Council’s area, and distributed via the Highland Council Service Point network.

The recent review, update and re-publishing of the Charter was conducted to conform with requirements of the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 and follows guidance on form and content issued by the Scottish Government.

In addition to the new Charter, the Council will be improving the management and reporting of enforcement complaints and will appoint two new posts to supplement the role of the existing Enforcement Officer. This will strengthen the Council’s proactive enforcement role.

Nevertheless, the role played by the public to supplement the Council’s monitoring by alerting them to any problems remains significant. This is of particularly valuable assistance given the expansive area of the Highlands covered by the enforcement team. The Charter provides details on this process.

For more information on the enforcement process and for a PDF copy of the new Planning Enforcement Charter, go to:
http://www.highland.gov.uk/yourenvironment/planning/planningapplications/planningenforcement/default.htm
–ENDS–