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Enforcement Action and Listed Buildings

All purchasers of Listed Buildings need to be aware that ignorance of works carried on in the past is no defence against enforcement action in the future.

In a recent case Christian Braun – v- the [1] Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions & Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council the Court of Appeal have just confirmed that even though an owner cannot be directly prosecuted within the Courts under S.7 and S.9 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 Act for unauthorised contravening work carried out by his predecessors in title, nevertheless by using the more cumbersome S38 enforcement notice procedures, an owner could still end up in Court.

The case followed an appeal by the Secretary of State from the decision of Ouseley, J quashing the decision of a planning inspector refusing listed building consent and allowing an appeal from an enforcement notice. The Secretary of State argued that the judge had wrongly held or assumed that the owner of a listed building could not be enforced against in respect of unauthorised works carried out by previous owners.

In fact the Enforcement Notice against Mr Braun was not upheld because of inconsistencies in the Council's evidence, which the Planning Inspector in the case did not properly address. Through its decision the Court of Appeal reminded Local Planning Authorities that enforcement can only take place against works undertaken since listing and that this must be made abundantly plain in the Enforcement Notice.