Draft Planning Enforcement Plan (June 2025)

Background

Planning enforcement is a vital part of the planning system. It ensures that development is carried out in accordance with planning permissions and helps protect the character and amenity of our communities. A Planning Enforcement Plan (PEP) provides guidance on how complaints are handled, how investigations are prioritised, and when formal action may be taken.

As a Local Planning Authority, we have a statutory duty to investigate alleged breaches of planning control and the discretion to take enforcement action where appropriate. With an average of 60 new cases reported each month, and around half found not to be breaches or not expedient to pursue, it's essential that our approach is fair, clear, proportionate, and focused on the most serious planning harm.

We understand that unauthorised development can cause frustration, concern, and distress for residents, businesses, and visitors across West Berkshire. While carrying out works without planning permission is not a criminal offence, it can still have a significant impact on local communities and the environment.

Our current PEP was adopted in October 2022 and is due for review. The Executive Meeting agreed on Thursday, 6 November 2025 to carry out a six-week public consultation.

How we developed our draft Planning Enforcement Plan (PEP)

The draft PEP builds on the existing plan aiming to improve how we prioritise and respond to reports of planning breaches.

It introduces a revised prioritisation system to ensure that our resources are focused on the most significant breaches. This change is in response to challenges with the previous system, where a high number of cases fell into Category 2 - High Priority, when a lower priority would have been reasonable and proportionate, making it difficult to manage investigations effectively and less clarity regarding priorities.

The main proposed changes are:

Amendments to the priority categories:

To introduce a fourth category called Category 4 - Low Priority, to better reflect the range of planning breaches and their potential impact. The new categories are:

• Category 1 - Urgent:
  Initial assessment within 2 working days (previously 5). Includes breaches that pose an immediate risk to public safety, such as construction phase emergency plan violations.
• Category 2 - High Priority:
  Initial assessment within 15 working days (previously 20). Includes breaches of operational phase emergency plans and other significant concerns.
• Category 3 - Standard Priority:
  Initial assessment within 40 working days (previously 30). Covers typical breaches that require investigation but are not time critical.
• Category 4 - Low Priority:
  New category for cases unlikely to result in unacceptable harm. These will receive a desktop assessment to determine whether further action is needed. Examples include untidy land and potential Section 215 notices.

Amendments to how breach types are categorised:

• Category 1 - urgent action now limited to specific substantial or irreversible breaches such as damage or felling of TPO trees, ongoing works to listed buildings or demolition in conservation area, unauthorised caravan site with risk of imminent occupation, development that is dangerous to the public and breaches of construction phase emergency plans
• Category 2 - captures those breaches which have risks of significant impacts and or public interest but less immediate than those in category 1 including impacts such as significant pollution or traffic hazards, harm to listed buildings, ongoing local disturbances, breaches of condition on major sites, breaches with a risk of imminent immunity from enforcement action and breaches of operational phase emergency plans will be treated as Category 2, recognising their importance but lower urgency.
• Category 3 - covers breaches that may have previously been in category 2 and are likely to remain stable and there is no severe lasting harm, including householder developments, fences, walls gates, breach of condition on non-major development and changes of use. 
• Category 4 - covers breaches which are unlikely to result in harm, such as commercial signage (not harming public safety), untidy land and buildings and houses in multiple occupation.

These changes aim to ensure a more responsive and proportionate enforcement service, helping us to focus on the most serious breaches while maintaining fairness and transparency.

We want to ensure that our resources are directed where they are most needed, and that our enforcement service continues to uphold public confidence in the planning system.

You can view/download our  draft Planning Enforcement Plan here [438KB]

Why we want your views

We welcome your views on these proposed changes and whether the draft PEP is:

• clear and easy to understand for everyone, including residents, developers, and other stakeholders
• transparent and accountable, so that people know how and why decisions are made
• focused on what matters most, ensuring our resources are directed to the most serious breaches

We're particularly interested in your views on whether:

• the proposed priority categories make sense and reflect the types of issues that concern you
• the proposed amendment to how breach types are categorised makes sense
• the timescales for initial assessments feel appropriate
• the plan provides enough clarity about how enforcement decisions are made

Your feedback will directly inform how we shape the final version of the PEP. We want to ensure the priorities and processes we've proposed reflect the concerns and expectations of our communities. By sharing your views, you'll help us make sure the plan is both effective and responsive to the types of planning issues that matter most to you.

How to take part

If you'd like to comment on our draft Planning Enforcement Plan [438KB] , please complete our survey. It should take about five minutes.

Complete our survey

You may also comment by either by email to the Planning Enforcement Team or in writing to Draft Planning Enforcement Plan (June 2025) Consultation, Planning Enforcement Team, West Berkshire Council, Market Street, Newbury RG14 5LD.

All responses must reach us by 5pm on Monday, 9 March 2026 if they are to be considered.

You may also comment by email to the Planning Enforcement Team or in writing to Consultation on the Draft Planning Enforcement Plan, Planning team, West Berkshire Council, Market Street, Newbury RG14 5LD.

Paper copies of the consultation documents are available for the length of the consultation at Reception at the West Berkshire Council Officers during normal office hours.

If you have any questions about the consultation, please email planningenforcement@westberks.gov.uk 

For general enquiries about Planning Enforcement please visit our webpage. For government guidance please visit the Gov.UK site

What happens next

All feedback we receive will be considered, analysed and used to inform the final plan which will be included in a report submitted to elected members for consideration at the Executive Meeting on Thursday, 21 May 2026.   

Anyone can watch councillors discuss items at Council and Committee meetings or ask a question. Residents can attend public meetings, either in person at the Market Street Offices or online. If you'd like to ask a West Berkshire Councillor a question at a public meeting, find out what can and can't be asked, and how to submit your question here.

Once approved, the final policy will be published on our planning enforcement and strategies, policies and plans webpage pages, usually within three months.