The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to approve a planning application which includes construction of a roundabout on the road close to the complainant’s home. There is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions. And the complainant has not suffered a significant personal injustice which warrants out involvement.
The complaint
The complainant, I shall call Mr X, says the Council failed to correctly consult all affected parties on a new road layout near his home.
Mr X says if the new roundabout is built, it will create a dangerous road system putting the lives of hundreds and thousands of children who must negotiate the junction daily. He also says residents of local roads, including himself, will be unable to exit their roads. He also says this will increase pollution because of slow-moving traffic.
He wants the plan overturned and a new plan imposed which preserves the existing road layout.
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 any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council confirmed site notices on the planning application was displayed on 10 locations around the development site on two occasions. Details of the plans were also publicised in the local newspaper. The planning documents were available to view on the Council’s website, as were the planning committee reports.
Documents presented by the developer states that details of the proposal were sent to 899 addresses within a one-kilometre radius of the site. A public exhibition was held, and meetings taken with local business.
I have seen no evidence of fault in the way the Council publicised the planning application.
The roundabout does not exist. Therefore, the problems envisaged by Mr X are not definite. Therefore, any injustice to Mr X is speculative. We cannot remedy speculative injustice.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating any fault has not caused injustice Mr X we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X is seeking.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman