The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her neighbour’s planning application. This is because there is no evidence to show it is to blame for the delay in Mrs X receiving her consultation letter and it properly considered the impact of the proposed development in any case.
The complaint
The complainant, Mrs X, complains the Council’s consultation letter about her neighbour’s planning application arrived too late for her to comment on the proposed development. She is also unhappy with the development the Council approved.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council has provided Mrs X with evidence from its system to show it sent the consultation letters on the correct date. There is no duty or obligation for it to send consultation letters by special or recorded delivery and it is at least as likely that the delay resulted from issues with the postal service as any fault by the Council. We could not therefore say, on balance, that the Council was responsible for the full period of the delay and that its actions prevented Mrs X from commenting on her neighbour’s proposal.
However, regardless of the reasons for the delay we could not say it caused Mrs X significant injustice. This is because the planning officer’s report shows the Council considered the impact of the development on her property even without her comments and it is therefore unlikely that anything she may have said would have changed its decision.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council in its consultation with neighbours or affecting its decision to grant planning permission.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman