Council planners can use stronger enforcement measures to take on landowners who repeatedly break planning rules.

This includes those who carry out works without approval or act in bad faith on developments with planning consent.

These changes will make it harder for rulebreakers to seek future planning permission and will give councils the ability to issue unlimited fines against those failing to build in the right places.

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The wide-ranging measures include:

• increasing enforcement limits from four to 10 years so councils have more time to stop developments without planning approval
• introducing unlimited fines against developers who fail to comply with planning permission or refusing to deal with rundown properties and overgrown fields
• doubling the length of temporary stop notices to 56 days to suspend all works if a council suspects building has gone ahead despite permission has not been granted
• strengthening the planning inspectorate to dismiss appeals against developers trying to delay the process, including the refusal of site visits and access

Minister for housing and planning, Lee Rowley, said: “Today marks another important step forward in our mission to deliver a faster and less bureaucratic planning system, making sure councils have greater powers at their disposal to take robust action against developers who do not play by the rules.

“We are clamping down on planning loopholes, allowing councils to issue unlimited fines, and strengthening local decisions that communities want to see.

“This builds on our long-term plan for housing to deliver more homes and infrastructure that is beautiful, affordable, and built in the right places.”