Planning Enforcement investigate breaches of planning control. A breach of planning control is:
Permission can be expressly granted by the Council, following an application being made, or under permitted development rights or deemed consent provisions.
Queries relating to shared boundaries and walls need to be addressed by neighbouring owners under the provisions of the Party Wall Act.
Disputes over property boundaries, land ownership, damage to your property or covenants are civil matters and the Council cannot assist. You can contact land registry, seek legal advice or contact the Citizens Advice Bureau.
These works do not require planning permission. However, approval may be required from Building Control. In addition, internal works to facilitate premises for the consumption or preparation of food require a licence.
Damage to adopted roads, including redways, grass verges and pavements, street lighting and bollards, can be reported to the Council’s highways team.
Works taking place within the highway, such as dropped kerbs, replacement or repair of sewers, or improvement works to support new housing, may be subject to control under the Council’s highways team.
On-street parking problems can be investigated by Parking Services, or the Police where it is causing a hazard.
Abandoned vehicles can be reported to our waste and recycling services.
Concerns over the licencing of goods vehicles can be reported to the Traffic Commissioner.
Unauthorised traveller encampments on public open space or highway land can be reported to our Environmental Crime Unit.
Builders working unusual or unsocial hours, or noise disturbances and anti-social behaviour, can be reported to the Environmental Health team.
Health and safety concerns on building sites must be reported to the Health and Safety Executive.
Dangerous structures can be reported to our Building Control team.
Problems or issues with maintenance of landscaping and open spaces, or with vegetation overhanging the adopted highway, can be reported to landscape services.
Disputes regarding high hedges are investigated by the Environmental Services team.
Concerns over the handling or storage of waste are investigated by the Environment Agency.
We cannot investigate works or uses which have not yet started.
Before reporting any alleged breach of planning control - you must check if planning permission has been granted. You can do this by viewing our Planning Register.
It should also be recognised that planning permission is not required in many cases, with permitted development rights allowing for many common building works or uses of land and property.
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Single-storey rear extensions up to 4 metres in height and up to 8 metres from the original rear wall for detached houses (6 metres for other types of houses) can be normally built under permitted development rights.
Two-storey rear extensions can normally extend up to 3 metres from the original rear wall, but must not be closer than 7 metres to the rear boundary. Single-storey side extensions can normally be up to half the width of the original house, but not where facing a highway or within 2 metres of the side boundary.
Loft space can normally be extended by up to 50 cubic metres for detached and semi-detached houses, and 40 cubic metres for terraced houses. Rooflights can also be installed
Porches to any external door are usually permitted if it does not exceed 3 square metres, is no higher than 3 metres, and is more than 2 metres from any boundary adjacent to a highway.
No extension should extend beyond the main (usually the front) elevation.
Materials
The materials used in any of the above works must be similar in appearance (colour, texture, style and size) to the existing house.
Conservation areas and listed buildings
Permitted development rights are more restricted in conservation areas and on listed buildings.
Having read and understood the above information and checked that permission has not been granted for the works, I confirm that I wish to report an alleged breach of planning control. Click this link to report an alleged breach.
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In most cases, where windows and doors are of similar dimensions, style and colour, planning permission is not normally required to change these. Equally, creating new, or removing, windows and doors does not normally require permission. There are greater restrictions for both types of work in the Olney and Wolverton conservation areas.
On listed buildings, consent is required. Changing windows and doors on flats or maisonettes requires planning permission.
Painting the walls of a home does not normally require planning permission, but the addition of materials not already present is likely to need permission.
Having read and understood the above information and checked that permission has not been granted for the works, I confirm that I wish to report an alleged breach of planning control. Click this link to report an alleged breach.
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In many cases, planning permission is not required to build an outbuilding in a garden, such as a shed, summerhouse or garage, as long as it is used for incidental purposes, such as storage, a home office or a gym. It cannot be used for living accommodation.
The height can be up to 2.5 metres within 2 metres of a boundary. If it is further away, it can be up to 4 metres for a dual-pitched roof, or 3 metres for other types of roofs. It cannot be sited in front of the home or take up more than 50 percent of the garden. In conservation areas the siting between a side elevation and a highway is restricted, whilst outbuildings cannot be built in the grounds of a listed building.
In each case, raised platforms up to 300mm are allowed without planning permission. On sloping land, this is measured at the edge of the building itself.
Having read and understood the above information and checked that permission has not been granted for the works, I confirm that I wish to report an alleged breach of planning control. Click this link to report an alleged breach.
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In many cases, it is possible to create or alter a driveway without making a planning application. This can also include creating or modifying vehicle accesses on unclassified roads.
Where the area of the works exceeds 5 square metres, permeable materials like porous tarmac or permeable block paving must be used (including sub-base materials), or provision must be made for rainwater to drain to a garden border or soakaway. Drainage cannot be connected to sewers without permission.
Vehicle accesses
Where the access relates to an adopted highway, separate consent is required from the Highways Streetworks team.
Having read and understood the above information and checked that permission has not been granted for the works, I confirm that I wish to report an alleged breach of planning control. Click this link to report an alleged breach.
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In most cases, where not adjacent to a highway, fences, walls and gates up to 2 metres in height may be constructed. Where adjacent to a highway, the height is restricted to 1 metre. The highway includes any verge or footway. Existing fences, walls and gates can usually be replaced, like for like, without planning permission.
Schools can construct fences up to 2 metres in height adjacent to a highway. Permission is required to construct fences, walls and gates around a listed building.
Any fence, wall or gate cannot be constructed so to obstruct the view of vehicles exiting the property or anyone using the highway.
Having read and understood the above information and checked that permission has not been granted for the works, I confirm that I wish to report an alleged breach of planning control. Click this link to report an alleged breach.
But did you know?
Some changes of use are allowed, such as converting an attached garage into a living space. Where a detached garage is converted into a living space, such as an annexe, any exterior works would not be permitted.
Permission is not required for the use of gardens for incidental purposes, such as erecting a gazebo or placing a children’s climbing frame.
Working from or running a business from home
In most cases, permission is not required to work from home. However, if the nature of the work has certain effects on the locality, a material change of use may have occurred. This is generally judged by the effect of traffic generated, number of employees or visitors to the dwelling, and if activities cause noise, smells or other disturbances. The test is whether the home remains primarily in use as a dwelling.
Having read and understood the above information and checked that permission has not been granted for the works, I confirm that I wish to report an alleged breach of planning control. Click this link to report an alleged breach.
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Generally, there is no need for permission to receive care at home. This can include live in carers for adults. However, external changes such as building ramps may require permission.
Children’s care homes
Use of an individual dwelling to provide for a children’s care home may not require permission. Such changes of use are often not ‘material’, and therefore cannot be a breach of planning control. Concerns regarding the operation of such homes should be raised with operator in the first instance, before turning to Ofsted and/or the Care Quality Commission.
Having read and understood the above information and checked that permission has not been granted for the works, I confirm that I wish to report an alleged breach of planning control. Click this link to report an alleged breach.
A house in multiple occupation (HMO) is a property occupied by at least three people who are not from the same household but share facilities like a bathroom and kitchen.
Planning permission is required for HMOs across Milton Keynes as the Council has removed the permitted development right for this use. However, no action can be taken against HMOs which are operating prior to 2011 or have been operating without permission for 10 years or more.
Larger HMOs, which have five or more tenants, usually require a license from the Private Sector Housing team. You can search the Council’s HMO register to check.
Having read and understood the above information and checked that permission has not been granted for the works, I confirm that I wish to report an alleged breach of planning control. Click this link to report an alleged breach.
But did you know?
Planning permission may not be required under certain conditions. More information can be found on the Planning Portal. For example, changing from a shop to a café, restaurant, office, gym, medical practice or day nursery is not usually a breach of planning control.
Certain temporary uses of land are allowed for events or markets for up to 28 days in a calendar year. Using land for agricultural, horticultural or forestry purposes does not require planning permission.
Having read and understood the above information and checked that permission has not been granted for the works, I confirm that I wish to report an alleged breach of planning control. Click this link to report an alleged breach.
But did you know?
Listed building consent is required for any work that affects the character of the building, both internally and externally. This includes alterations, extensions and demolitions. The listing also covers objects attached to it and curtilage buildings and boundary walls.
Regular maintenance and minor repairs that do not alter the building's character typically do not require consent.
Having read and understood the above information and checked that permission has not been granted for the works, I confirm that I wish to report an alleged breach of planning control. Click this link to report an alleged breach.
But did you know?
Works to, or the removal of, trees do not generally require consent from the Council. However:
Utility companies are allowed to undertake works to any tree without prior consent, in order to maintain their services. The Council is also allowed to undertake works to any protected trees it is responsible for.
You can check if a tree is protected or in a conservation area here.
Hedgerows
A hedgerow is not protected if it is in, or marks the boundary of, a private garden. Consent is normally required to remove hedgerows in other cases, unless allowed for as part of a planning permission.
Having read and understood the above information and checked that permission has not been granted for the works, I confirm that I wish to report an alleged breach of planning control. Click this link to report an alleged breach.
We investigate breaches of planning control brought to our attention by completing the online enforcement form, accessed through the relevant section above.
Investigations are carried out in line with our Local Enforcement Plan. Investigations are prioritised according to the likely impact of the breach, recognising that formal enforcement is discretionary. In addition, investigations often take considerable time as we obtain all the necessary evidence to establish whether there is a breach of planning control, mutually seek to resolve any breach where possible, and robustly substantiate any formal enforcement action. Therefore, we only share limited information with the complainant on progress and cannot be precise about timescales for resolving a breach.
Please note that we may pass your details to other Council departments or other external partner organisations in order to carry out our investigation, or where they are better suited to investigating your complaint. We will only share the information to enable us to deal with this matter. Please refer to our privacy policy and the corporate privacy notice for further details on how we use your personal data.
The planning enforcement register is held by the Council, in its capacity as the local planning authority, at the Civic offices. Please make a search under Land Charges provisions to establish whether an enforcement notice applies to the property or land concerned, or contact planning services if you require information relating to it.
Civic, 1 Saxon Gate East, Milton Keynes MK9 3EJ