ABSTRACT
Parliament has always taken the view that a breach of planning control is not, in the first instance, an offence punishable by the courts. Instead, the power to take enforcement action is vested in lpas which may require the owner or occupier to remedy the situation. The Planning Contravention Notice (PCN) was introduced by ss 171C and 171D of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and allows local planning authorities (lpas) to serve the notice whenever it appears to the authority that there may have been a breach of planning control in its area, that is, carrying out development without the required planning permission, or failing to comply with any condition or limitation attached to a planning consent. The introduction of the Breach of Condition Notice (BCN) is designed to overcome the problem that, prior to its introduction, the only recourse open to an lpa was to take enforcement action against a breach of condition.
