Webinar for businesses: Compliance demystified
Looking to build, convert or extend your business premises?
View our recorded webinar to learn about:
- what development is permitted without a planning application
- breaches of planning conditions - what to avoid and the enforcement process
- advertisements - what's permitted, what's not and the criminal penalties for displaying unauthorised adverts.
Compliance demystified: Planning and development for businesses
New pre-application services launched and updated relevant web pages
Cornwall Council have launched two new pre-application advices services:
- Biodiversity Net Gain advice
- Sustainable Energy and Construction (Policy SEC1) advice
These can be requested as stand-alone advice, as an add on to our existing planning pre-application advice or as part of a Planning Performance Agreement (PPA).
The pre-application advice web pages have been updated to include these changes and also to make our service offering clearer.
Updated Fees and Charges Document
The fees and charges document has been updated to version 2.63. The main changes include the following:
- Pre-application service offering updated as stated above.
- Increase in fees for advice from Landscape Architect, Forestry Officer and Ecology Officer.
- Update to Accredited Agents Scheme, making it possible to agents to join at any point during the year.
Updated Ecology Trigger Lists
Following feedback our Ecology Trigger Lists have been updated.
- Yes and no columns added making its clearer each criteria has been considered.
- Criteria for thatched roofs added.
-
Barn conversion added to the Householder Trigger list as a survey is required to works/extension to any dwellings which were previously agricultural barns.
The updated forms are available on the 'Make a planning application' page under 'Download forms' and expanding 'Ecology Checklist and Trigger Lists'.
Planning enforcement changes April 2024
Immunity periods
The Government are changing the planning enforcement immunity period for unauthorised development in England. This is set out in Section 115 of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023.
From 25 April 2024, the period for which:
- a breach of planning for operational development and
- the change of use of a building to a dwelling
become immune from enforcement action will go from 4 to 10 years. Transition arrangements will still allow a 4 year period if works were substantially completed by 24 April 2024.
Fines
Greater fines can now be imposed for failing to comply with a Breach of Condition Notice. Previously the maximum was £1000 but now potentially there is no limit.
Temporary Stop Notices
These now last for 56 days instead of 28 days previously. A Temporary Stop Notice can now be issued for unauthorised works to a listed building. It is a criminal offence to contravene this Notice.
Enforcement Warning Notices
We can use this Notice if there is a reasonable chance that unauthorised development would receive planning permission. Requires a developer to submit a planning application within a specified timeframe or risk further enforcement action.
Appeals
You cannot appeal against an enforcement notice on the ground that planning permission should be granted for the development, if the unauthorised development has an enforcement notice:
- already refused by the Council and
- any subsequent appeal was dismissed (Enforcement Notice must have been issued within 2 years of appeal decision).
Appeals can now also be dismissed if the appellant causes undue delay.
Telecommunications installations and permitted development
The telecoms advice note provides background information to the public regarding permitted development for telephone masts etc as there’s quite a lot being erected as part of the Project Gigabit fibre broadband project at the moment.
The advice note provides background information on the legislative framework for new telecommunications development, including common projects that may take place on residential streets. Answers to frequently asked questions about telecommunications development can be found at the end of the note.
Planning news Summer 2024
We have published our Summer planning newsletters:
- Planning News for Local Councils and Agents
- Neighbourhood Planning Newsletter
You can find links to these newsletters on our Planning News page.
Our next newsletter is due end of October 2024.
