Planning (Wales) Act 2026

151 Offence of breaching stop notice

(1) A person commits an offence if—

(a) at any time when a stop notice has effect, the person carries out a relevant activity (within the meaning given by section 145(2)) that is prohibited by the notice or causes or permits such an activity to be carried out, and

(b) a planning authority or the Welsh Ministers have—

(i) served a copy of the stop notice on the person, or

(ii) displayed a site notice in respect of the stop notice under section 147(6) or (7).

(2) A person may be charged with an offence under this section by reference to a day or a longer period, and may be convicted of more than one offence in relation to the same stop notice by reference to different periods.

(3) In a case falling within subsection (1)(b)(ii), it is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that—

(a) a copy of the stop notice was not served on the person, and

(b) the person did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, of the existence of the notice.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction, or on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(5) In determining the amount of the fine, the court must in particular have regard to any financial benefit that has accrued or appears likely to accrue to the person in consequence of the offence.