Hounslow Council has updated its Planning Enforcement Plan following a public consultation held in the summer of 2025. The updated plan, which aims to improve how the council manages breaches of planning control, was noted at a Planning Committee meeting on Thursday 06 November 2025.
The Planning Enforcement Team commonly investigates a range of issues, including household extensions, new buildings, changes of building use, adverts, and the conversion of houses into flats. Other frequent investigations involve works to listed buildings, infrastructure/telecommunications, removal of protected trees, illegal works in the Green Belt, breaches of planning conditions, Section 106 requirements, and actions targeting criminal landlords.
The original plan was adopted in 2012, and the updated version incorporates feedback from 18 respondents who stressed the importance of strong enforcement, but also raised concerns about delays, poor communication, and the perceived overuse of the 'not expedient' justification for avoiding enforcement action. The updated plan addresses these concerns and aims for more consistent and transparent enforcement.
The updated Planning Enforcement Plan 2025 includes several key improvements:
- Clearer definitions of 'harm,' 'minor,' and 'expediency' to ensure consistent decision-making. Each
not expedient
decision must now include a written justification and will be reported on via the monthly updates. - Improved communication protocols with complainants, including named case officers and case updates. Residents are able to engage with the Complaints procedure if these standards are not complied with.
- A commitment to continue to publish enforcement statistics monthly. The Council will publish anonymised monthly statistics showing performance against timescales for different categories of planning breaches. Monthly anonymised enforcement data will be published, detailing the number of cases received, resolved, and closed as 'not expedient'.
- Reinforcement of powers under Section 215 and Stop Notices for visible or ongoing harm.
- Greater co-ordination with related council services to ensure joined-up enforcement. The Planning Enforcement team works on a daily basis with Council departments including Licensing, Community Enforcement (noise, odour, fly-tipping), Building Regulations, and HMO Licensing & Housing Standards. Joint visits and enforcement actions are planned where necessary, and contact information for each department is available on the council website.
The council received feedback that the previous plan lacked transparency and access to case information. While the council determined that providing open access to each individual enforcement case was not appropriate, it will publish statutory notices on the Council website.
The council also received feedback that the previous plan had an inconsistent interpretation of 'harm', 'minor', and 'expediency'. The updated plan states that each matter is considered on its individual merits, and when the matter is considered to be minor or not harmful then an explanation is provided via a report.
The updated plan also addresses concerns about retrospective planning permissions being used to legitimise breaches. The council noted that the Act allows Council to consider retrospective applications, and that the council cannot refuse to accept such applications.
According to the report pack, the updated plan:
represents a meaningful step forward in strengthening the Council's approach to managing breaches of planning control. It balances the need for effective enforcement with fairness, proportionality, and transparency, aligning with both statutory duties and community expectations.
The Planning Enforcement Team prioritises cases based on potential harm and urgency:
- Category A (Urgent – Immediate Harm)
- Works to Listed Buildings
- Works to Trees with TPOs
- Site visit: 1 working day
- Initial response: 3 working days
- Category B (Harmful, with potential to worsen)
- Unauthorised construction or breach of condition
- Breach of Enforcement Notice
- Unauthorised adverts causing highway danger
- Substandard living accommodation / HMOs
- Planning breaches causing direct harm (noise, privacy)
- Site visit: 5 working days
- Initial response: 5 working days
- Category C (Harmful, unlikely to worsen)
- Unauthorised construction
- Unauthorised change of use
- Site visit: 7 working days
- Initial response: 10 working days
The Planning Committee meeting also addressed planning applications for 299-303 Chiswick High Road and Buildings 1-5 Chiswick Business Park, but these were separate agenda items.
