The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint that the Council has refused her planning applications but granted planning permission to her neighbour. This is because it was reasonable for Mrs B to appeal to the Planning Inspector.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will refer to as Mrs B, complains that the Council has not considered her planning applications fairly. Mrs B says the Council has recently granted planning permission for changes to her neighbour’s property. Mrs B says the Council refused her planning applications for the same changes to her property.
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 Act 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 a decision to refuse planning permission.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs B.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs B had a right of appeal to the Planning Inspector against each refusal of planning permission. I find it was reasonable for Mrs B to use this right of appeal. The Planning Inspector has the power to overturn the Council’s decision and grant planning permission. Mrs B could have also put in a claim for costs with her appeal if she considered the Council had acted unreasonably or the appeal was avoidable.
So, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint because it was reasonable for her to appeal to the Planning Inspector.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman