Planning enforcement

We have prepared a Draft Planning Enforcement Plan setting out the council's approach to dealing with breaches of planning regulations. For more information and to give us your views, see the Draft Planning Enforcement Plan consultation. The closing date is 17 September 2021.

What is planning enforcement?

Planning enforcement investigates possible breaches of planning control. This includes:

• building work, which requires planning permission, being undertaken without permission
• conditions attached to a planning decision are not followed
• the use of a building or site is changed without permission

Does every development need planning permission?

Planning permission is not always required. Extensions or alterations to single dwelling houses and extensions, alterations or change of use to commercial and industrial uses may be permitted development.

Find out more about permitted development on the Planning Portal.

Report a suspected breach of planning regulations

Before reporting a suspected breach of planning regulations, check our online planning register to find out if approval for the development has already been given.

If you suspect someone has breached planning regulations, you can report it by emailing planning.enforcement@enfield.gov.uk.

You will need to tell us:

• the address of the breach or location of the land
• a description of the breach or problem
• when the activity started
• how it’s affecting you or your property
• the names and addresses of any owners, occupiers or companies involved
• your contact details so we can keep you updated

If you report a breach, we will keep your details confidential and won’t disclose them without your permission. You will receive an acknowledgement with information about the case, including a reference number and the name of the person dealing with your enquiry. Once we have investigated the report, we will let you know whether a breach of planning regulations has been identified and what action, if any, we may take.

Enforcement register

Under Section 188 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, every local planning authority must keep a register of information on:

• Enforcement Notices (ENs)
• Stop Notices (SNs)
• Breach of Condition Notices (BCNs)

View the Planning Enforcement Register entries from January 2010 (PDF).

View the Planning Enforcement Register 1989 to December 2009 (PDF).

You can search our register using the site address or by using the relevant enforcement number.