Agenda item

Cllr Chapman returned to the meeting.

The Monitoring & Enforcement Team Manager introduced the report which provided a summary of the work carried out by the Monitoring & Enforcement Team over the last year.  He then went onto highlight some specific cases that had been resolved or investigated.

The Officer reported that 3 formal notices had been issued over the year, of which one had been complied with. The other 2 went to appeal, 1 of which was dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate and the other was going to a Public Inquiry later this month.

Members expressed concern on the number of vacancies within the Monitoring and Enforcement Team and asked why that was?  The Officer reported tentatively that pay could be a factor as the Authority paid less than many other local authorities as well as a national shortage of specialist planners, the cost of living and the fluid job market. The Senior Monitoring Officer post had still to be filled from June 2021 and  the post was currently being covered 2days/week on a short term contract.  The Authority had tried to recruit twice to this post, but so far had not been able to do so.  Last September, the Enforcement Monitoring Officer also left, and that post was filled in December, but that person would be leaving soon.  Enforcement was about prioritising.  The Local Enforcement Plan was adopted in 2014 to assist with prioritising cases and was broken down into 3 levels:-

High – Serious Detrimental Impact

Medium – Moderate Impact

Low – Limited Harm

Members asked what the next step would be after an appeal if it was still being blatantly ignored?  The Officer reported that there were 3 options:-

Prosecution

Injunction

Take direct action ourselves – where we can instruct contractors to comply with the Enforcement Notice, then try to reclaim the charge for the work from the owner.

Members asked the Monitoring and Enforcement Team Manager provide an Quarterly Report in 3 months time when Members of the Public could make  representations under the Public Participation Scheme on one particular case,, as well as a list of any cases that were still outstanding after a long period of time and a list of Enforcement Notices that should have been complied with. 

RESOLVED:-

1.    That Members note the report.

2.    That the Monitoring & Enforcement Team Manager provide a report to Members of the Planning Committee in 3 months time so that members of the public can speak under the Public Participation Scheme, and to provide Members with a list of outstanding enforcement cases together with a list of enforcement notices that should have been complied with.