Planning Enforcement 

Sedgefield Borough Council Development Section deal with breaches of planning control through our Enforcement Officer.  A breach of planning control occurs when a person starts work on a building or undertakes a new use without obtaining the necessary planning permission. The legislation does permit a person to submit an application 'retrospectively' so as to 'regularise' the development.  Investigating Planning Complaints requires a considerable expenditure of staff resources. It is important that those resources are used efficiently and in the best interests of the community.

We ask people to report a breaches of planning control on either a paper form which can be posted to you, or through our online reporting facility. 

To report a breach of Planning Control via our online facility, please click here:  Guidance on how to complete the online form is available here:

If you wish to report a breach of planning control on a paper form, please contact Development Control to ask for a form on (01388) 816166.

To view a summary of all breaches of Planning Control reported to us since 1st January 2007, please click here