Planning enforcement notices

Section 188 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) requires the Council to maintain a register of enforcement notices served for public inspection. 

The following notices are registerable: 

  • S171BA(1) planning enforcement orders
  • S172 enforcement notices
  • S183 stop notices
  • S187A breach of condition notices

The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 will also make provision for the following notices to be added to the s188 Register: 

  • S172ZA Enforcement Warning Notices 

Details of when the above are able to be registered will be available soon. 

Please note that the Council is empowered to serve other forms of enforcement action, however, such action is not able to be registered. For further information please consult the Reading Borough Council Local Enforcement Plan 2023 or email the team at planning.enforcement@reading.gov.uk

How the Council maintains records 

Details of all notices served after 26 June 2023, relevant to the list above, are recorded in an excel spreadsheet, a copy of which is available from this webpage in a PDF format below. 

Planning enforcement s188 register (since 2023)

A hardcopy of all notices are also kept at the Civic Offices. This contains copies of all notices served prior to 26 June 2023 and notices served after that date. The hardcopy version of the s188 register is available for viewing by requesting an appointment.  

The Council will supply copies of notices held on register as a PDF upon request free of charge.

Please note: the hardcopy version will be withdrawn at the end of 2025. All notices will be provided by electronic communication only. 

All notices included on the s188 Register are in force and can be subject to compliance monitoring.

Withdrawn notices

A notice can be withdrawn from the s188 Register by the Council when a decision to do so is made.

For s172 notices, a notice can be withdrawn when an appeal successfully overturns the notice (a decision of the Planning Inspectorate). 

Resources and references

S188 Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) 

Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 (s117 only) 

Last updated on 23/04/2024