Commentary Enforcement notice
129.Paragraph 11 provides powers to enable the responsible authority for a designated feature to enforce the designation. It is not an offence in the first instance to contravene paragraph 5(1) (the prohibition on altering, removing or replacing a designated feature without the consent of the responsible authority) but it is an offence not to comply with a subsequent enforcement notice, described in paragraph 133 of these notes below.
130.The responsible authority may issue an enforcement notice to the person that contravened paragraph 5(1), or the owner of the feature.
131.An enforcement notice must give instructions to the person on whom it is served, setting out the corrective measures the person must undertake and by when they should be completed in order to restore the feature to its proper state. If an enforcement notice is ignored the authority may carry out the remedial work and may recover costs incurred from the person on whom the enforcement notice was served.
132.An enforcement notice may be appealed in accordance with regulations made under paragraph 15 of this Schedule.
133.Paragraph 11(4)(a) provides that it is an offence to fail to comply with an enforcement notice, and that if found guilty, a person may be fined up to a maximum amount as set out in level 5 of the standard scale.
134.The enforcement powers also apply to a provisional designation notice until such time as it expires.