Enforcement

You can let us know if you think someone has broken or not followed planning laws. You can also check if planning permission has been granted.

Urgent reports

To report an urgent situation, call us as soon as possible on 023 8028 5345.

Urgent situations include:

• danger to the public
• a significant health risk
• harm to a listed building
• someone cutting down a protected tree.

Non-urgent reports

If you think there has been a planning breach, report it to us using the online form below. 

Report a planning breach

Provide as much detail as possible when completing the online form, including:

• the address where the activity is taking place
• a description of the activity
• the date the activity started or was first observed
• the effect it has on you or local amenities
• any evidence to support your allegation.

You may also attach files such as images. You must provide your full contact details, but these will not be passed on to anyone else.

We also deal with high hedge complaints.

What happens next

We will investigate and decide what we need to do. In some cases there may not have been a breach, so we do not need to do anything. 

We try and resolve as many breaches as possible by talking to the land or property owner. Where this is not possible, we may issue an enforcement notice which could eventually lead to prosecution.

Although we try to resolve a breach as quickly as we can, it can sometimes take several months.

You can find out more about the processes involved by reading our Local Enforcement Plan.

View the Enforcement Register

If formal notices have been served, these become public documents.  Our register of enforcement notices, stop notices and other enforcement action is available online. 

View the online Enforcement Register

You can also view or comment on a planning application.