Carrying out building work without planning permission

It's not an offence to carry out building work or development without planning permission, but if you do we can take enforcement action - especially if the appearance of the area or the living conditions of local residents is adversely affected.

Our planning enforcement policy includes details of the formal enforcement action we can take.

Before starting any building work

Before starting any building work, you should find out if you need planning permission and/or building regulations approval.

We also offer a pre-application planning advice service for homeowners and developers, so you can find out if your plans will need permission, and how likely it is they would be approved.

Reporting a breach of planning permission

If you think someone is carrying out building work or a development that doesn't have planning permission, you can report a breach of planning permission to us.