News – 171B.— Time limits – Town and Country Planning Act 1990 c. 8

Town and Country Planning Act 1990 c. 8
Part VII ENFORCEMENT

171B.— Time limits.
(1) Where there has been a breach of planning control consisting in the carrying out without planning permission of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under land, no enforcement action may be taken after the end of the period of four years beginning with the date on which the operations were substantially completed.
(2) Where there has been a breach of planning control consisting in the change of use of any building to use as a single dwelling house, no enforcement action may be taken after the end of the period of four years beginning with the date of the breach.
(3) In the case of any other breach of planning control, no enforcement action may be taken after the end of the period of ten years beginning with the date of the breach.
(4) The preceding subsections do not prevent—
(a) the service of a breach of condition notice in respect of any breach of planning control if an enforcement notice in respect of the breach is in effect; or
(b) taking further enforcement action in respect of any breach of planning control if, during the period of four years ending with that action being taken, the local planning authority have taken or purported to take enforcement action in respect of that breach.”
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1. Added by Planning and Compensation Act 1991 c. 34 Pt I s.4(1) (January 2, 1992 except as it relates to breach of condition notices and subject to transitional provision specified in SI 1991/2905; July 27, 1992 otherwise subject to transitional provisions in SI 1992/1630 art.3)
2. Act modified by Planning (Consequential Provisions) Act 1990 (c.11), s. 5, Sch. 3 paras. 13, 14 Act amended by Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (c.9), ss. 72(2), 91(4) Act excluded by Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (c.9), s. 50(4)(a)