Petition · Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government

Criminalise unauthorised development & ban retrospective permission

Open for signatures 1,636 signatures

What the petition asks

We call on the UK Government to amend the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 making it a criminal offence to develop any large-scale space without first securing the correct planning permission.
We are calling on the UK Government to reform planning and enforcement laws, to stop anyone from placing in any green space hard standing or fencing, and from residing/ living there, without full planning permission already in place. We also want the Government to disallow retrospective permission in these instances thus putting a stop to any lengthy delays before remediation. We want to strengthen powers available to councils and police to deal with unlawful occupation of land where planning permission has not already been granted.

Timeline

30 Jun 2026 Petition opened for signatures

Key facts

Signatures 1,636
Status Open for signatures
Department Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
Opened 30 Jun 2026

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 26 Jul 2026.