To issue a
Temporary Stop Notice in relation to Land at Turnpike Road, Motcombe,
requiring residential use of the land to cease.
This
decision is taken under delegated powers, as set out in paragraph 145 of the
Officer Scheme of Delegation in the Council’s Constitution. These delegated
powers have been passed to the Service Manager for Development Management and
Enforcement through the Local Scheme of Nomination for Planning Services –
Executive Director of Place (dated 9 October 2023).
Paragraph
145 of the Officer Scheme of Delegation provides the following delegated
powers:
To
undertake all action in order to regulate any actual,
perceived or potential breach of any of the Town and Country Planning
Legislation including: … (c) to determine whether to issue any notice
including: … (vi) any temporary stop notice ..
provided that this delegation does not include the power to make a final
determination to:
(i) seek any injunction and/or any make any application for
contempt whether pursuant
to the
Town and Country Planning Act 1990 or otherwise; or
(ii)
issue a stop notice; or
(iii)
issue a temporary stop notice
unless:
(A) in
his/her opinion the need to issue a stop notice or temporary stop notice is urgent;
(B) in
respect of an application for an injunction or contempt there is the prior
approval of the Director, Legal and Democratic Services; and
(C) any
cost associated with the issue of the stop notice or temporary stop notice can
be met from a budget available for such a purpose and/or the prior approval of
the Section 151 Officer is obtained.
In this
case, I consider that the issuing of a temporary stop notice is urgent as
advice received from the Highways Team indicates that the site access is not
safe for the unauthorised
residential use. The serving of a temporary stop notice carries a risk of a
compensation claim against the Council. National Planning Practice Guidance
sets out that compensation is only payable in certain circumstances. In this
case, a review of the site’s planning history confirms that there are no
planning permissions for residential use, and there is no evidence that a residential use has existed continuously for ten years
(and hence would be immune from enforcement action). As such, the risk of
compensation needing to be paid is considered to be
small. The Section 151 officer (Sean Cremer) has confirmed their approval for
the serving of the Temporary Stop Notice, in line with the requirement set out
in Paragraph 145 of the Officer Scheme of Delegation.