The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with the complainant’s planning applications or how it investigated possible breaches of planning control. This is because the complainant has not suffered significant injustice as a result of the alleged fault.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, has complained about how the Council dealt with her planning applications and how it has investigated alleged breaches of planning control. Mrs X says she feels harassed by the Council and believes she has been treated unfairly. Mrs X says she has been caused considerable stress and anxiety because of the Council’s actions.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a government minister. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b)) The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister. The Planning Inspector considers appeals about: delay – usually over eight weeks – by an authority in deciding an application for planning permission a decision to refuse planning permission conditions placed on planning permission a planning enforcement notice.
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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X has complained about how the Council has dealt with her planning applications. She says her applications were met with resistance from the Council, there were delays and it did not consider each application on its own merits. However, I cannot say Mrs X has been caused significant injustice in this regard as the Council did grant her recent applications. Mrs X also could have appealed to the Planning Inspector for non determination if she was unhappy with how long the Council took to decide her applications.
Mrs X has complained about how the Council has investigated possible breaches of planning control and says there have been a significant number of unannounced site visits. However, the Council has a duty to look into possible planning breaches and this will often involve visits to the site. I also cannot say Mrs X has suffered any significant injustice in this regard as the Council has not taken formal enforcement action against her.
Furthermore, Mrs X would have the right to appeal to the Planning Inspector if the Council refuses permission for any applications she makes in the future. She can also appeal if the Council takes formal enforcement action against her. The Ombudsman will not usually investigate when someone has a right to appeal to the Planning Inspector, even if the appeal would not address all the issues complained about.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she has not suffered significant injustice because of the alleged fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman