Monitoring and compliance of authorised development

Introduction

We regularly monitor all mineral and waste sites in West Sussex that have planning permission to ensure that:

• the sites are being implemented correctly; and 
• the sites are in ‘compliance’ with the planning conditions attached to the permission.

The number of visits undertaken for each site is determined through a risk-based assessment that takes into account a number of factors including:

• the nature and scale of the development;
• the location of the site and its proximity to residents;
• the sensitivity of the environment of the site and of the wider area; 
• the history of compliance at the site; and
• the ‘reputation’ of the developer/operator.

Reports about compliance with the conditions attached to planning permissions for authorised development are presented to the Planning Committee every 6 months, usually in January and June.  The reports are available with the Planning Committee’s agendas and minutes.

We are committed to dealing with complaints concerning alleged breaches of planning control relating to authorised development. If you suspect that planning conditions have been breached, please report the problem to us.

Fees monitoring sites

‘Fees monitoring’ legislation was introduced in April 2006 to ensure that permissions on mineral extraction sites (for example, sand pits) and landfill sites are monitored in accordance with good practice. Accordingly, a ‘fees monitoring scheme’ was introduced that allows us to charge fees to monitor those type of sites in West Sussex.

The number of visits per annum for each site is determined by the annual risk-based assessment of the site and is agreed with the operator. The latest assessment of fees monitoring sites will be made available here shortly.

The number of visits is also dependent on the stage of operations at each site; whether operational (including in aftercare) or inactive. The current fees for the visits, which are fixed by the Government, are:

• active sites - £288.00 per visit for between 1 and 8 visits per year; and
• inactive sites - £96.00 for 1 annual visit.

In addition to the formal ‘announced’ visits to the fees monitoring sites, unannounced visits may also take place.

Non-fees monitoring sites

We cannot charge for visits to the mineral and waste sites not covered by the ‘fees monitoring’ legislation, for example, wastewater treatment works, composting sites, scrapyards, and waste transfer stations. We do, however, undertake announced and unannounced visits to these sites to ensure that the development on those sites is in compliance with the terms of their planning permissions.

The number of announced visits per annum for each site is determined by the annual risk-based assessment of the site.

Site Liaison Groups

Site Liaison Groups are in place at some sites and others will be set up where necessary or desirable in the public interest. They usually involve the site operator and representatives from the Environment Agency, and the county, district, and parish councils. 

Compliance with the conditions attached to planning permissions may be discussed at the group meetings and any unresolved breaches of planning control may also be raised with the intention of swiftly resolving the issue to satisfaction of the group.