Planning permissions due diligence for land transactions: establishing lawfulness, implementation, conditions, breaches, notices and enforcement immunity (England and Wales)

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Importance of establishing the planning history of a site

Where a deal involves creating, acquiring or disposing of any interest in land, confirming whether existing or intended uses or any operational works on that land are lawful is essential. This is because permission for the ‘development’ of land, as defined by section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990) (see Overview: Is planning permission required?), must be in place unless the works or uses are allowed by a development order, for example the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015, SI 2015/596 (for England) or the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995, SI 1995/418 (for Wales) (see: Permitted development—overview). Failure to obtain planning permission when the law requires it, or failure to comply with conditions attached to a permission, amounts to a breach of planning control, which the local planning authority (LPA) may take enforcement action against (see: Planning enforcement—overview). As all grants of planning permission are decisions made by public bodies, they can be open to challenge in the High Court by way of judicial review or under the relevant statutory review procedures in both England and Wales...

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Web page updated on 20/05/2026

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