The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of a planning matter. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, Mrs X, complains the Council granted planning permission for development which may intensify alleged business use at her neighbour’s property. She says her neighbour’s actions result in noise which affect her mental health.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), 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 considered Mrs X’s neighbour’s application based on the information available at the time. It determined the proposal was acceptable in planning terms and I have seen nothing to show fault by the Council in the way it reached its decision.
While Mrs X is also unhappy with a large outbuilding in her neighbour’s garden, which she says does not have planning permission, this is not the cause of the injustice she claims. Her concerns relate primarily to the alleged business use of her neighbour’s property including the outbuilding and the Council has investigated this point but decided there is not enough evidence to take formal action. The Council’s decision is a matter of professional judgement and I have seen no evidence of fault in the way it was reached. The decision is neither irrational nor perverse and the law does not therefore allow us to question it.
The Council has agreed to consider any new evidence Mrs X may provide to show intensification of the alleged business use and we could not achieve anything more for her.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman