Whether a developer is in breach of planning legislation in circumstances where construction has begun without obtaining planning permissio…

The Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act (1997) (Section 123(1)) states that carrying out development without the required planning permission constitutes a breach of planning control.Planning authorities have the power to serve an Enforcement Notice, if appropriate, requiring the alleged breach to be remedied. The notice must, among other things, specify the matters which appear to the planning authority to constitute a breach of planning control, the steps which require to be taken, the date on which the notice takes effect and the period allowed for compliance with its' terms. In addition, where the planning authority considers it expedient that any "relevant activity" should cease before the expiry of the compliance period in the Enforcement Notice, it may also serve a Stop Notice prohibiting the carrying out of that activity on the land to which the Enforcement Notice relates, or any part of that land. A planning authority may also seek to restrain or prevent any breach of planning control, whether actual or threatened, by applying to the court for an interdict. Applications may be made either to the Court of Session or to the Sheriff. Guidance on the range of enforcement action available to planning authorities is outlined in the SODD Circular 4/1999: Planning Enforcement and Planning Advice Note (PAN) 54: Planning Enforcement. Copies of both documents are available in the Parliament's Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 11121 and 1151 respectively).