Herefordshire now has a searchable online register of planning enforcement notices, enabling anyone to see what action the council is taking against planning breaches in the county.

Searches on the new webpage can be made by case reference number, location, date and status of the notice.

Enforcement notices are issued to individuals or businesses when a planning authority, in this case Herefordshire Council, believes development has either taken place without planning permission, or does not match the permission granted.

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Typically those on whom the notice is served have a month in which to appeal against it. They are then given a period, often several months, in which to make good the claimed unlawful development.

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Local planning authorities are required by law to maintain a publicly accessible register of planning enforcement, enforcement warning, and stop notices.

Herefordshire's cabinet member for environment Coun Elissa Swinglehurst said: “The new register, which is required by law, will be of great use to members of the public who want to find out more about all matters relating to planning enforcement.

“It will also save a great deal of council officer time in responding to individual enquiries, allowing us to focus delivery of our services in the best and most efficient way.”

The new service returns details of individual enforcement notices but not the notices themselves, meaning that the names of those involved and the specific locations to which the notices refer are not apparent.