New regulations announced earlier this week have provided clarity on enforcement changes, which were introduced in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023.
As of 25th April, all works and changes of use will need to have been in place for 10 years in order to be immune from enforcement. Previously, any operational development i.e. physical building works, or changes of use to create a dwelling only needed to demonstrate 4 years.
Transitional arrangements have been included in the regulations, meaning that any works substantially complete prior to 25th April will still benefit from the previous timeframes. For example, if a new building was constructed and completed without planning permission on 24th April, then the owner would only need to wait 4 years until the building becomes lawful. If the building was constructed and completed after 25th April, then they would need to wait 10 years for the building to become lawful.
Other changes were also introduced in the regulations, including the ability for a local planning authority (LPA) to issue a Temporary Stop Notice if they suspect unauthorised work has been carried out to a listed building. The Notice would halt work for up to 56 days to allow the LPA to investigate the breach.
Hester Dalton