Scottish Government

Temporary Stop Notice

33. There is currently a power to serve a Stop Notice in association with an Enforcement Notice to stop an unauthorised activity or development especially where there is a threat to amenity through irreparable damage to buildings or the environment from the unauthorised activity. However, this is a relatively slow and unwieldy process -a stop notice can only be issued with an EN, can be delayed or quashed as a result of an appeal against the EN, and there is a three day notification period before it takes effect. An alternative - where a perceived threat is seen as serious and an enforcement notice has not been served - is for planning authorities to seek an Interdict through the Courts to stop the activity. However, this is still time consuming and relatively inflexible.

34. Section 26 of the 2006 Act introduces new sections 144A, 144B, 144C and 144D into the 1997 Act. Section 144A provides planning authorities with the power to issue a Temporary Stop Notice ( TSN), as a means of speeding up and simplifying the procedure for stopping unauthorised development. These notices are valid for up to 28 days, and could be effective from the time they were served, without requiring an enforcement notice. Such a notice would be valid for 28 days before a formal enforcement notice and stop notice would require to be served. There would be no right of appeal.

35. We consider that where the planning authority consider that a breach of planning control needs to be stopped immediately issuing a TSN has advantages over the alternative processes;

• The Stop Notice must still be issued in conjunction with an EN. While there is no direct appeal against a Stop Notice, the developer may appeal the EN, thus putting the process on hold until the appeal is resolved. There is no appeal whatsoever against a TSN therefore the developer cannot seek, for whatever reason to delay the process.
• An EN and Stop Notice require to be served on individuals and, if it is breached, it is a defence in law that the individual contravening the notice was not served the notice and had no reasonable cause to believe the activity was prohibited. A TSN does not require to be served on individuals (although it can be) as it is served by displaying, and takes effect from the time it is displayed, on the site. While it remains a defence that the individual was not aware of the notice, any such defence would be harder to prove, given that the notice is displayed on-site.

36. S. 144B (1) set outs that a TSN may not prohibit the use of a building as a dwellinghouse. It also provides that Ministers may prescribe other activities where a TSN may not be used.

37. It is our view that there should be as few restrictions as possible on planning authority's ability to consider the use of TSNs as a response to breaches of planning control. However it could be argued that, by stating that the use of a building as a dwellinghouse could not be prevented by use of a TSN, the use of such powers could be seen to discriminate against people who live in accommodation other than a building (primarily Gypsy/Travellers and others living in caravans) and would therefore go against S.51 of the 2006 are which requires Scottish Ministers and planning authorities to observe equal opportunities requirements.

38. We therefore propose that regulations establish that a TSN may not be served on a caravan occupied by a person as their main residence purely for the purpose of removing them from the site. However there should be provision that where the siting of a caravan creates a danger to either the occupants or the public in general or would be unacceptable for some other compelling reason, the planning authority would have the power to serve a TSN.

39. Draft regulations to implement this are set out in annex C as The Town and Country Planning (Temporary Stop Notices) (Scotland) Regulations 2007.

General comments on consultation