I need to know about the planning enforcement service

This page tells you how to let us know about any concerns you may have about unauthorised developments, how we enforce the planning regulations, the standards we hope to achieve and the protocols we aim to follow.

Select the document that relates to your needs:

  • How are the planning regulations enforced? (pdf)pdf or (word)word
    This guide explains the powers available to the Council to enforce the planning regulations.
  • Service Standards: The Planning Enforcement Service (109,20Kb PDF file)
    This document tells you about the standard of service we aim to provide for the planning enforcement service.
  • Enforcement Protocol (pdf)pdf or (word)word
    This document tells you about the procedures that are followed by enforcement officers to help ensure that the function is carried out in an equitable, practical and consistent manner.

These documents are in Adobe Acrobat's Portable Document Format (pdf). You need the Adobe Acrobat Reader program to view and print them. If you do not already have this program, download it here.

Help us protect the environment

If you want to let us know about any concerns you might have about breaches of planning control you can submit a planning enforcement enquiry online or write to us at the address at the foot of this page.

Important information about the enforcement enquiry process

Please note that every effort is made to safeguard the confidentiality of any individual who reports a potential breach of planning control.

If, following enforcement action, an appeal is made against an enforcement notice, complainants will be notified and may be asked if they wish to submit further information, or appear as witnesses at any subsequent Public Inquiry, Hearing or court case. Representations from local people are sometimes crucial to the Council’s success on appeal or at a court hearing; however, at that stage representations made may be the subject of disclosure in any proceedings.

Please note that many types of work do not require planning permission. You will find more information on what does or does not require planning permission here.

The highways department deals with street problems. You can report a highways issue here.

Your enquiry will be screened upon receipt and, if a breach of planning control is confirmed, an assessment will be made at this stage of the seriousness of the breach identified. Cases will be prioritised based on seriousness. If there is no breach of planning control you will be informed accordingly.

Online planning enforcement enquiry form

If your concerns relate to an activity, it will assist us to investigate your complaint if you can provide details of how often the activity occurs and/or dates and times it has been observed. Please complete as fully as possible an Enforcement Investigation Log Sheet (pdf). pdf

High Hedge Complaints

From 1 June 2005, provided they have tried and exhausted all other avenues for resolving their hedge dispute, people have been able to take their complaint about a neighbour's evergreen hedge to their local authority. The role of the local authority is not to mediate or negotiate between the complainant and the hedge owner but to adjudicate on whether - in the words of the Act - the hedge is adversely affecting the complainant's reasonable enjoyment of their property.

If you wish to complain about a high hedge complete the Online planning enforcement enquiry form

A fee is payable to the Authority to investigate a High Hedge Complaint.

You may find the following links useful on the Communities and Local Government web site if you want to find out more about making a High Hedges complaint:

Contact us

Sustainable Communities
Environment and Regeneration
Waltham Forest Council
Sycamore House
Forest Road
London E17 4JF
tel 020 8496 3000
email wfdirect@walthamforest.gov.uk