The Court of Appeal has confirmed that where there is a breach of planning consent through failure to comply with the use specified in the consent, where this relates to use as a single dwelling, the right to enforce the terms of the consent must be exercised within four years of the breach.
The case concerned Arun District Council, which had granted permission for an extension to a property on the condition that it was occupied by the dependent relative of the occupier. The extension was later let to students, in breach of the planning consent, and the property was effectively occupied as two dwellings. Eight years later, the Council sought an enforcement order against the homeowner. The Council argued that it could bring the action because there is a statutory ten-year period for the bringing of such actions where there is ‘any other breach of planning control’. However, the section of the Town and Country Planning Act which deals specifically with breaches relating to buildings to be used as a single dwelling specifies a four-year period, from completion of the works, during which any enforcement action must be brought.
The case turned on the fact that there is a specific section in the Act which relates to such breaches, so it was clear that the intention of Parliament was to apply one time limit in such cases and another time limit for other breaches.
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