The law provides a right of appeal against an Enforcement Notice. The appeal must be sent to the Secretary of State before the notice takes effect. Details of how to appeal are included with the Enforcement Notice.
Grounds for appeal include:
- legal grounds, concerning the validity of the notice
- grounds relating to over-compliance – for example, that the time for compliance is too short, or the works to be undertaken are more than is necessary
- grounds relating to the "deemed" application – that permission ought to be granted for the development that has already been carried out
There is a fee payable for Enforcement Notice appeals which relate to a 'deemed application'. Advice is provided on the Planning Portal website.
It is not possible to appeal against an Enforcement Notice on the grounds that planning permission should have been granted, if a planning application has already been submitted and refused for the same development.
Once a planning Enforcement Notice has been issued, there can be no appeal against a previous decision to refuse planning permission for the same development. Any appeal must be made against the Enforcement Notice – this prevents landowners having 'two bites of the cherry' or extending the life of an unauthorised development.
There is no right of appeal to the Secretary of State against a Breach of Condition Notice. The applicant can either:
- submit an appeal against a planning condition when planning permission is first issued
- submit an application to remove or vary the condition