Enforcement

When you need planning permission

Most building or development work in Scotland needs planning permission, unless it counts as "permitted development." Sometimes people carry out work without getting permission first, or they do not follow the conditions of the permission they were given.

You also need permission for:

• Most work on a listed building, inside or outside
• Putting up most adverts or signs
• Any work on trees in a Conservation Area or protected by a Tree Preservation Order

What counts as a breach

If someone carries out work without permission, or breaks the conditions of a permission, this is called a breach of planning control. When this happens, the Council can take enforcement action if doing so is in the public interest. Not every breach leads to formal action.

How we deal with breaches

When we look into a reported breach, we assess what action, if any, is needed. In many cases, a breach does not harm the area or affect neighbours, so the Council does not have to take formal action.

Where a breach has happened and action is needed, the Council usually tries to sort it out through discussion rather than going straight to legal action. This might mean asking for a retrospective planning application, or asking the person to fix specific problems. If a breach is serious, or cannot be resolved informally, we will take formal action.

Most planning breaches are not a criminal offence. The exceptions are breaches involving listed buildings, trees, and adverts. Some issues people think of as "planning matters" are actually outside our control.

Reporting a suspected breach

Our Planning team monitors building work to check that it meets planning rules. But members of the public also play an important part by telling us about problems they notice. We welcome reports of possible breaches.

If you make an initial enquiry, please follow it up in writing. You can write to: Planning Control Officer, Development Management, Orkney Islands Council via the address or email listed above.

What to include in your enquiry

Please include the following information:

• The address of the property (or a detailed description if there is no address)
• Details of the suspected breach, including dates and times if you know them
• Your name and address as the person making the complaint
• Your email address, if you have one, or if you are complaining online
• How the breach affects you
• Whether you want your enquiry kept confidential

Confidentiality

We will try to respect requests for confidentiality wherever we can. However, we cannot always guarantee this. We have to consider our duties under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

Our Enforcement Charter

Our Planning Enforcement Charter explains what the Council can and cannot do, how planning control works, and the level of service you can expect when you raise a concern about unauthorised development.

Public register of enforcement notices

We must keep a public register of enforcement notices. This includes the address of the property, a description of the breach, the type of notice, and the dates it was issued and complied with. It does not name anyone who made a complaint.