Stacey and I were notified earlier this month that an enforcement notice has now been issued to the operators of the site of the former pit heap in Hesleden. This follows a Breach of Condition notice issued in October (full details can be found in an article posted on these pages on Wednesday 23 October 2024): Council serves Breach of Condition Notice at Hesleden Pit Heap
I have reproduced below the redacted text of the Enforcement Notice issued on 8 November 2024. As ever, we'll continue to monitor progress and update on any significant issues arising from this latest development:
To whom it may concern. 8th November 2024:
IMPORTANT THIS COMMUNICATION AFFECTS YOUR PROPERTY.
Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) ENFORCEMENT NOTICE RELATING TO UNATHORISED Alleged breach of Conditions 3 (submission of details) and 4 (time limit) of Planning Permission DM/19/02315/VOCMW at Former Colliery Spoil Heap Hesleden TS27 4PN.
Durham County Council has issued an enforcement notice relating to the above land and I now serve on you a copy of that notice as you have an interest in the land.
There is a right of appeal to the Secretary of State (at The Planning Inspectorate) against the notice.
Unless an appeal is made, as described below, the notice will take effect on 12 December 2024 and you must then ensure that the required steps, for which you may be held responsible, are taken within the period(s) specified in the notice.
Please note that the right of appeal may not apply to everyone who has been served with the enforcement notice; clarification of who can appeal is provided in the Planning Inspectorate’s Guidance literature (see below for details). If you are entitled to appeal, due to the limited time in which is available to appeal you are strongly advised to use the online Appeal Casework Portal of the Planning Portal where you can submit your appeal online or download a form rather than waiting for the forms to be sent out to you in the post. If you encounter difficulties, please do not hesitate to contact this office.
You can also read/download guidance on the Enforcement Appeals Procedures and the use of The Appeal Casework Portal from the website www.gov.uk/appeal-enforcementnotice ‘Enforcement Appeals: procedural guide and ‘Enforcement Notice Appeals: how to complete your enforcement appeal form’.
If you decide that you want to appeal against the enforcement notice, and you are entitled to do so, you must ensure that you send your appeal soon enough so that normally it will be delivered by post/electronic transmission to the Secretary of State (at The Planning Inspectorate) before 12 December 2024.
Under section 174 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) you may appeal on one or more of the following grounds:-
(a) that, in respect of any breach of planning control which may be constituted by the matters stated in the notice, planning permission ought to be granted or, as the case may be, the condition or limitation concerned ought to be discharged; (b) that those matters have not occurred; (c) that those matters (if they occurred) do not constitute a breach of planning control; (d) that, at the date when the notice was issued, no enforcement action could be taken in respect of any breach of planning control which may be constituted by those matters; (e) that copies of the enforcement notice were not served as required by section 172; (f) that the steps required by the notice to be taken, or the activities required by the notice to cease, exceed what is necessary to remedy any breach of planning control which may be constituted by those matters or, as the case may be, to remedy any injury to amenity which has been caused by any such breach; (g) that any period specified in the notice in accordance with section 173(9) falls short of what should reasonably be allowed. Not all of these grounds may be relevant to you. You do not have to pay a fee to appeal; unless you appeal under Ground (a).
If you appeal under Ground (a) of Section 174(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 this is the equivalent of applying for planning permission for the development alleged in the notice and you will have to pay a fee to the Council – this is referred to as the deemed application. The amount of the fee is dependent on the type of development undertaken and is double that payable for a normal planning application. In this case the Council has calculated the fee to be £24,648 which must be paid to the Council at the outset when you provide the Council with a copy of your appeal documentation (cheques made payable to Durham County Council). Joint appellants need only pay one set of fees. If you decide to make an appeal, when you initially submit it to the Planning Inspectorate, you should state in writing the ground(s) on which you are appealing against the enforcement notice and you should provide the Planning Inspectorate with a Statement setting out briefly the facts on which you intend to rely in support of each of those grounds. If you do not do this when you make your appeal the Planning Inspectorate will send you a notice requiring you to do so within 14 days. You must also send a copy of your appeal submission to the Council at the same time. Please acknowledge receipt of this letter and enclosures.
