Should I contact planning enforcement about my own build?

[miike]

Towards the start of my build, I had a site visit from planning enforcement because of a complaint on the roof being built too high. The officer was somewhat confused when they arrived and found that the house didn't actually have a roof yet. They revealed that they'd had complaints for 9 other things including not following the landscaping plans, when no landscaping was close to even starting. This led them to concluding that the complaints were obviously vexatious and I never heard from them again, other than to confirm the case had been shut. 

 

The house has been completed now, and I'm willing to bet they received a variety of other nonsense complaints during that time. I'm wondering if it's worth contacting them myself now to ask them to officially confirm they're satisfied the house has been built to plans, or if its better to let sleeping dogs lie? 

 

My concern on the former, is if it's inviting them to go through everything with a fine tooth comb, potentially leading them to find a wall is an inch out, then asking me to rebuild it or apply for a planning alteration, which I believe would invalidate the CIL relief. My concern with the latter, is that if they decided in the future to investigate a complaint of 'the wall is an inch too wide' they might try harder to find fault than if I had contacted them myself to take a general overview of the house. 

 

 

[elite]

If they have confirmed the case has been closed, I would just crack on

[kandgmitchell]

From experience, planning enforcement only tends to get involved when someone makes a complaint and draws things to their attention. Even then it has to be sufficiently serious for it to be worth them getting involved. Let's face it, I doubt if many on this forum have actually built their houses exactly in accordance with every requirement of their planning permission and there are very few enforcement cases raised on here.

 

The Council have confirmed the case is shut and my view is to let that very sleepy dog lie and steer well clear of it............................

[Conor]

Ohhh don't even think about picking up that phone. 

[JohnMo]

Never ask a question you don't want the answer to. If they had issues you would be the first to know and know already.

[saveasteading]

3 hours ago, miike said:

leading them to find a wall is an inch out

Relax. The planners are well aware that the complaints were vexatious. if there are more then they will contact you.

 

I've had such complaints and as long as you aren't deliberately cheating then it goes away or needs a simple resolution such as retrospective approval..

eg.  to high?   above what? they don't know.

Too wide?  an inch is not remotely significant.

 

and so on.

If you've added a wing or converted an attic without permission then that's different.

 

Come back to us if there are any more contacts though, of course.