What happens after a Planning Contravention Notice

A Planning Contravention Notice, usually shortened to PCN, is served under section 171C of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. It is the council asking questions. It is not an enforcement notice, it does not require you to stop anything, and it does not by itself mean the council has decided to take action.

The notice gives you 21 days to reply. Failing to reply, or giving false information, is a criminal offence, so the deadline matters even when the questions look simple. The questions normally cover who owns and occupies the land, what the land is used for, when that use started, and what building work has been carried out.

Your answers become the council's evidence base. Officers use them to work out whether there is a breach of planning control, whether the breach is immune from enforcement because of the passage of time, and whether formal action would be expedient. A careless date or a vague description of the use can create a problem that takes years to unpick.

In practice, most cases that arrive at a PCN can still be resolved without formal action. Options include a retrospective planning application, a Certificate of Lawfulness where the use or works are already immune, or an agreed programme of works to bring the site back into compliance. Councils generally prefer a negotiated outcome because formal action is slow and costly for them too.

The sensible order is simple. Read the notice carefully, gather the documents that support your dates, answer accurately and on time, and take advice before you commit to a version of events you cannot evidence later.