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Enforcing breaches of planning regulations

If we find there has been a breach of planning regulations, we may take informal and formal action, depending on the circumstances in line with our Enforcement Plan.  

Informal action includes:  

  • negotiating changes to the work  

  • applying for retrospective planning permission 

Formal action includes:  

  • planning contravention notice, which gives us power to request information about the breach 

  • enforcement notice, which sets out what constitutes the breach of planning control, and what steps are required to be taken or what activities are required to cease to remedy the breach 

  • breach of condition notice, which sets out what steps are needed to secure compliance with the terms of a planning condition 

  • discontinuance notice, which requires certain advertisements to be removed 

  • stop notice, which bans any of the activities causing the breach 

  • prosecution, where a breach is a criminal offence and for failure to comply with formal notices 

  • injunction, which is a court order to stop the breach 

If you’ve undertaken work without permission  

If we find that you’ve breached planning regulations, we’ll tell you what the breach is, what you need to do to fix it and when you need to do it by.  If you do not comply within the timeframe we give, we can start formal action.  

We’ll consider prosecution action for:  

  • breaches which are also criminal offences   

  • failure to follow enforcement notices 

To check if there’s a notice on your property, you can search for an enforcement notice. Or, you can email our Local Land Charges team at locallandcharges@camden.gov.uk.  

If you've financially benefitted from unlawful activity, we’ll apply for a confiscation order under The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 ("POCA").  

 Enforcement fees  

 We have fees for certain services: 

  • Copy of an enforcement notice and compliance certificate - £182.50 

  • Compliance check (according to planning permission or conditions - £147 per hour 

  • Enforcement meeting or written advice - £550 per hour  

Email planning@camden.gov.uk for more information. 

How to pay  

You can pay enforcement fees:  

  • by credit/debit card by telephoning 020 7974 4444  

  • by BACS transfer using our bank details 

Our bank details are:  

  • Name: London Borough of Camden   

  • Bank: NatWest   

  • Sort code: 50-30-03    

  • Account number: 24299480  

You must use the Council’s reference number which will be on any notice or letter you have received.