Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Enforcement notices: High Court clarifies nullity versus correction under TCPA 1990 s 173 and s 176 and confirms new building test for extensive works (Oates v SSCLG) [England and Wales]

Published on: 10 November 2017

Published by a LexisNexis Planning expert

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Article summary

Oates v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government [2017] EWHC 2716 (Admin)

What is the significance of the decision for authorities and developers?

This ruling examines when those taking decisions should treat an enforcement notice as void, instead of relying on the power in section 176(1) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (TCPA 1990) to put right a flaw in a notice. The court confirmed that the obiter remarks in Miller-Mead v MHLG [1963] 2 QB 196, viewed in a fair and objective way, signify that where a contravention of TCPA 1990, s 173(1) and (3) is made out—namely, the enforcement notice fails to identify the alleged breach of planning control and the steps the addressee must take to cure it—then nullity must follow. By contrast, where the deficiency does not amount to such a clear infringement, the decision-maker may deploy the statutory power to correct. The court also cautioned against an unduly technical or formalistic stance when deciding whether an enforcement notice is a nullity. Whether a particular defect is serious enough to quash the notice is a matter of context and must be assessed by reference to the facts, wording and the overall purpose...

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