The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to grant planning permission for a development on land next to Ms X’s home. This is because there is no evidence of fault in how the Council reached its decision.
The complaint
Ms X complains the Council has granted planning permission for a development on land at the rear of her property which is overbearing and will overshadow her property.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council. I have also considered information about the planning application which is available on the Council’s website.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council has produced an officer report which considers the impact of the development on Ms X’s property. Ms X’s property is 26 metres from the development. The Council’s planning policies say a distance of 15 metres is acceptable in circumstances similar to the relationship between Ms X’s property and the development. Therefore there is no evidence of fault in how the Council reached its decision to grant planning permission for the development.
Final decision
We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman