Planning enforcement and abandoned moorings 

The curtain has finally come down on the long-running planning enforcement case where William Upton has been advising the Broads Authority on the unlawful use of an old mooring basin.

The continued pressure from the Broads Authority has now led to the landowner selling up, and abandoning his plans for a new marina on the site. This comes after 10 years-worth of argument about the planning history – involving two public enforcement inquiries, two High Court challenges  (including Wood v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government & Broads Authority [2015] EWHC 2368) followed by a successful application for a s187B injunction.  Mr Wood argued that a commercial boatyard use had not been abandoned, even though it had closed in the 1960s and all the relevant buildings had been removed.

The enforcement of the costs from the High Court case appears to have been the final demand that unlocked the problem.

Not all cases will involve such perseverance, but it does demonstrate how patient a local playing authority must sometimes be encouraged to be in order to maintain the integrity of planning regime.

Click here for news coverage of the case