Babergh and Mid Suffolk plan provides clarity around enforcement when developers break the rules

A revised plan helping residents frustrated with developers not following the rules to understand the enforcement process has been approved.

The replacement joint local planning enforcement plan (JLPEP) covering Babergh and Mid Suffolk aims to help both complainants and those complained about get to grips with policy.

This is the first review since the JLPEP was adopted in 2017. Mid Suffolk District Council gave the green light on Monday and Babergh District Council followed suit yesterday.

The votes were unanimous at both councils, though many at Mid Suffolk were sceptical about how far the new plan will help complainants.

Cllr John Field, ward member for Blakenham at Mid Suffolk, said: “I welcome the new policy but have severe reservations about whether it will be a solution to our problems.

“These things take forever to resolve – maybe because it’s a difficult subject and the law does not move rapidly, but local populations don’t quite see the justice in that.

“I have a fear that this new policy is a framework for explaining why things take forever to happen rather than for getting things done.

“I certainly have communities in my ward with issues that have been going on for 17 years.”

Mid Suffolk Cllr Sarah Mansel also believed the plan would support councillors with “managing expectations” when explaining issues to residents frustrated with non-compliance, though she was “not convinced” it would directly help with their problems.

Changes to the 2017 plan include: removing technical language; making clear what people reporting or responding to a planning enforcement matter can expect; explaining why the council might not take formal action in some cases; and emphasising the importance of keeping those interested aware of progress in a timely manner.

A new prioritisation strategy has also been produced, laying out the criteria for different levels of harm, and the resulting speed with which action will be taken – if it is taken at all.

At yesterday’s Babergh meeting, Cllr Alastair McCraw commented: “I think this report is something we have needed for a long time.

“Nobody has had any certainty. There has been no understanding of how enforcement is carried out. Here, we have criteria and a structure.”

The council has also produced a diagram outlining exactly what happens when a complaint about non-compliance is received.

The diagram can be found at item 11, appendix C, while the plan itself and the prioritisation strategy are at appendices A and B, here: https://baberghmidsuffolk.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=153&MId=3473.