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To report any breach of planning control, contact us or complete our 'report a planning breach' form.

To help us to investigate your complaint, the following information is useful:

Consent to display an advertisement(s) is required for certain types of advertisement. You can find more information on advertisement consent on the Planning Portal website.

A guide is also available from the Planning Portal titled ‘Outdoor advertisements and signs: a guide for advertisers’.

Change of use

Uses of land and buildings are divided into various categories known as 'use classes'.

In many cases involving similar types of use, a change of use of a building or land may not need planning permission. Planning permission is not needed when both the present and proposed use fall within the same use class, for example a greengrocers shop can change to a shoe shop without permission.

Some alterations to your home may not require planning permission and could be carried out as a permitted development, if they satisfy certain limits and conditions. These may include the following:-

What constitutes a protected hedgerow?

These regulations relate to any hedgerows that are growing on, or adjacent to, land used for agriculture. There are a few exemptions and it is advisable contact us to discuss your individual case.

Hedgerows within the garden areas of dwellings cannot be protected under this legislation.

We have the power, under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 and the High Hedges Regulations 2005, to deal with complaints about high hedges which affect residential properties.

In recognition of the special contribution of trees, conservation area legislation introduced in 1967 includes the blanket protection of all trees within a conservation area having a stem diameter greater than 75mm when measured at 1.5 metres above ground level.

What is a Tree Preservation Order and what is its purpose?

A Tree Preservation Order (TPO) protects trees which make a significant impact on their local surroundings. It is an offence to cut down, top, lop, uproot, wilfully damage or wilfully destroy a tree without our permission. This is particularly important where trees are in immediate danger.

Protection of trees

Information is available about the protection of trees, how to get work done on a tree and the costs involved, how to find out if a tree is protected and how to object or support a Tree Preservation Order.

If you would like us to consider a having a tree protected, please complete and submit this form.

Planning enforcement is action we can take when works have been carried out without planning permission.

We can only take planning enforcement action if there has been a breach of planning control. A breach of planning control could be building an extension to a house, not complying with planning conditions which relate to a building or changing the use of land from one type of business to another

Copeland Borough Council

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Change of use

What constitutes a protected hedgerow?

What is a Tree Preservation Order and what is its purpose?

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