Planning and Compensation Act 1991

41 Stop notices

(1) For section 87(1) to (3) of the 1972 Act (stop notices) there is substituted—

“(1) Where the planning authority consider it expedient that any relevant activity should cease before the expiry of the period for compliance with an enforcement notice, they may, when they serve the copy of the enforcement notice or afterwards, serve a notice (in this Act referred to as a “stop notice”) prohibiting the carrying out of that activity on the land to which the enforcement notice relates, or any part of that land specified in the stop notice.

(2) In this section, “relevant activity” means any activity specified in the enforcement notice as an activity which the planning authority require to cease and any activity carried out as part of that activity or associated with that activity.

(2A) A stop notice may not be served where the enforcement notice has taken effect.

(2B) A stop notice shall not prohibit the use of any building as a dwellinghouse.

(2C) A stop notice shall not prohibit the carrying out of any activity if the activity has been carried out (whether continuously or not) for a period of more than four years ending with the service of the notice; and for the purposes of this subsection no account is to be taken of any period during which the activity was authorised by planning permission.

(2D) Subsection (2C) of this section does not prevent a stop notice prohibiting any activity consisting of, or incidental to, building, engineering, mining or other operations or the deposit of refuse or waste materials.

(3) A stop notice shall specify the date when it is to come into effect, and that date—

(a) must not be earlier than three days after the date when the notice is served, unless the planning authority consider that there are special reasons for specifying an earlier date and a statement of those reasons is served with the stop notice; and

(b) must not be later than twenty-eight days from the date when the notice is first served on any person.”

(2) For section 87(8) of that Act there is substituted—

“(8) If any person contravenes a stop notice after a site notice has been displayed or the stop notice has been served on him he shall be guilty of an offence.

(8A) An offence under this section may be charged by reference to any day or longer period of time and a person may be convicted of a second or subsequent offence under this section by reference to any period of time following the preceding conviction for such an offence.

(8B) It shall be a defence in any proceedings under subsection (8) of this section that the stop notice was not served on the accused and that he had no reasonable cause to believe that the activity was prohibited by the stop notice.

(8C) References in this section to contravening a stop notice include causing or permitting its contravention.

(8D) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £20,000; and

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(8E) In determining the amount of any fine to be imposed on a person convicted of an offence under this section, the court shall in particular have regard to any financial benefit which has accrued or appears likely to accrue to him in consequence of the offence.”

(3) For section 166(6) of that Act (compensation for loss due to stop notice) there is substituted—

“(6) No compensation is payable under this section—

(a) in respect of the prohibition in a stop notice of any activity which, at any time when the notice is in force, constitutes or contributes to a breach of planning control; or

(b) in the case of a claimant who was required to provide information under section 83C, 83D or 270 of this Act in respect of any loss or damage suffered by him which could have been avoided if he had provided the information or had otherwise co-operated with the planning authority when responding to the notice.”