Planning enforcement action against short-term lets

The request was successful.

Dear Dartmoor National Park Authority,

I’m seeking details of enforcement action taken by your authority’s planning team in relation to properties offered for short-term lets via platforms such as Airbnb.

Please could you provide the following under the Freedom of Information Act:

The number of planning enforcement notices issued by your authority in relation to short-term lets in each financial year from 2011/12 to 2018/19.

The number of planning contravention notices issued by your authority in relation to short-term lets in each financial year from 2011/12 to 2018/19.

If available, please also provide the number of informal warnings issued by your authority’s planning team in relation to short-term lets in each financial year from 2011/12 to 2018/19.

Yours faithfully,

Mark Wilding

autoreply, Dartmoor National Park Authority

Thank you for your email which has been received today.  Our service
standards state that you can expect a response within 10 working days.

 

If you do not get a response within this time, please re-send your email
to [Dartmoor National Park Authority request email]

 

Legal-MBX, Dartmoor National Park Authority

Dear Mark

 

Thank you for your email received on 24 April 2019 regarding a Freedom of
Information request in relation to enforcement action against short-term
lets.

 

I can confirm that your request has been passed to the relevant officer
and a response will be sent by no later than 23 May 2019.

 

Kind regards

 

Claire Fairhall

Business Support Officer

 

 

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James Aven, Dartmoor National Park Authority

FAO Mr. Mark Wilding

 

 

Dear Mr. Wilding

 

I have been passed your request for information that the Authority
received on 24 April 2019.  Most requests for information on planning
related subjects are usually covered by the Environmental Information
Regulations and the Authority has therefore applied those regulations to
your request.

 

The Authority has 20 working days to provide the information in accordance
with the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (“the Regulations”). 
The deadline for response is therefore 22 May 2019 and I am pleased to be
able to provide the information you request below.

 

The Act provides public access to information held by public authorities
and members of the public are entitled to request information concerning
any recorded information that is held by that public authority. 

 

In your email of 24 April 2019, you state that you seek details of
enforcement action taken by the Authority’s planning team in relation to
properties offered for short-term lets via platforms such as ‘Airbnb’.
More particularly, you ask that the Authority provide you with:

 

1.    The number of planning enforcement notices issued by the Authority
in relation to short-term lets in each financial year from 2011/12 to
2018/19, and

 

2.    The number of planning contravention notices issued by the Authority
in relation to short-term lets in each financial year from 2011/12 to
2018/19.

 

You also request, if available, the number of informal warnings issued by
the Authority’s planning team in relation to short-term lets in each
financial year from 2011/12 to 2018/19.

 

The Authority does not categorize its enforcement cases according to type
or manner of occupancy and as such, it is difficult to differentiate
between allegations of unauthorised short-term and long-term lets. 
Furthermore, the distinction between these may not have been identified
during our investigations.

 

Notwithstanding this, I have sifted through the relevant cases and have
provided, to the best of my ability, the information you seek below. 
Please note however that if any “informal warnings” concerning
unauthorised short term lets were given, no such information is held by
the Authority:

 

1.    Two enforcement notices have been served by the Dartmoor National
Park Authority since 1 April 2011 in relation to what appeared to include
unauthorised short-term lets.

 

The first in October 2015, the second in March 2019.

 

Please note that all Enforcement Notices served by the Authority are
publically available and can be viewed either on the Authority’s website
or at its offices at Parke, Bovey Tracey should you wish to research this
further yourself.  Please use case references ENF/0124/14 and ENF/0234/15
when searching on the Authority’s website.

 

2.    Five planning contravention notices have been issued by the Dartmoor
National Park Authority since 1 April 2011 in relation to allegations of
unauthorised developments that appeared to include short-term lets.

 

The dates these were issued are January 2012, October 2013, May 2014,
March 2016 and July 2017.

 

 

Regards

 

James Aven

Deputy Head of Development Management

Tel: 01626-831019

 

 

Please note, if you are aggrieved by the Decision and/or by the way you
have been treated by any Officer of the Authority you should put your
complaint in writing, marked “Private and Confidential - Complaint”  to
The Chief Executive (National Park Officer) Dartmoor National Park
Authority, Parke, Bovey Tracey, Newton Abbot, Devon. TQ13 9JQ.

 

You can complain to the Information Commissioner on any of the following
grounds:

 

§  failure to provide the information you requested

§  failure to respond to your request within 20 working days (or failure
to explain why longer than 20 working days is needed)

§  failure to give you proper advice and assistance

§  failure to give information in the form in which you requested it

§  failure to properly explain any reasons for refusing the request

§  failure to correctly apply an exception under the Regulations

 

The Information Commissioner recommends that firstly, you should complain
directly to the public authority itself. Only if the authority has no
complaints procedure, or if you do not believe it has dealt with your
complaint properly, should you contact the Information Commissioner.
You should do this as soon as possible and in any case within two months
following the final response of the public authority.

 

 

FOI/EIR Complaints Resolution
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

 

 

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