The vast majority of development in EHDC is carried out properly with an application submitted, considered then the works built to the approved plans. Some home owners occasionally fall foul of the rules and have to submit retrospective applications – a stressful process with no guarantee of success but it is unusual for large developers to get things so wrong that the planning authority needs to take action.
The Gales site is one example where this has taken place and Linden Homes advise they expect to be commencing the remedial works in about a weeks time but as local Councillors we are looking ahead at our larger developments and how we take a more direct role in ensuring compliance at an early stage.
As a result Major developments will be monitored more closely as part of new planning enforcement guidelines with a new Local Planning Enforcement Plan which sets out how the council will deal with breaches of planning control and the powers at our disposal. Importantly, additional resources have been set aside to monitor major developments in EHDC to ensure they are built in accordance with their permissions and as expected by the council and the community.
Lesley Wells, Planning Compliance and Trees Manager, said: “We believe that the integrity of the whole planning system depends on the council being prepared to take effective enforcement when necessary. The public will lose confidence in the planning system if unauthorised development is allowed to go ahead without the council taking the appropriate action. When there is a development that is unacceptable in planning terms the council will not hesitate to take the necessary action to stop this.”
horndeanmatters 
Pleased that the council are taking this initiative. The Gales site problem has been ongoing for a long time and perhaps could have been nipped in the bud sooner if planners had monitored the development more closely in the early days