Tough new rules on planning permission

Householders who build extensions and conservatories without proper planning permission will be forced to tear them down without further notice under tough new rules.

At present, councils can order a temporary halt to building work only until disputes are resolved. It means homeowners who build extensions without consent are given a chance to put the paperwork right.

Under the proposed new system, those who flout the rules will have to remove such developments immediately or face prosecution.

The plans, announced by the Office of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott today, are also aimed at gipsies who buy plots of land and set up traveller sites without planning consent.

Until now councils have been powerless to stop them.

Under the new rules, planning officers can order the removal of the entire site until the matter has been resolved.

Planning minister Keith Hill said: "We must act now to stop the scourge of unauthorised sites which can blight local communities."