The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her neighbour’s planning application. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, Mrs X, complains the Council refused to pass her neighbour’s planning application to its planning committee to determine. She says it failed to follow guidance and policy and granted planning permission for development which impacts her privacy.
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’s scheme of delegation allows for most planning applications to be decided under delegated authority by officers. Where requests are made by local councillors for an application to be decided instead by the planning committee, the Council will consider the request but is under no obligation to refer the matter to the committee.
The Council confirms Mrs X’s local councillor asked for her neighbour’s application to be considered by the committee but the Council considered this unnecessary. There is no basis for us to question the Council’s decision on this point and we could not say it affected the outcome in any event.
Ms X’s main concern about her neighbour’s development relates to overlooking caused to her property by two new windows at first-floor level. The planning officer’s report shows the Council considered the impact of these windows and explained the reasons it considered them acceptable. The Council cannot refuse planning permission just because a proposal has some impact on neighbours; the question is whether the impact is acceptable and this is a matter for the Council to decide. Its decision a matter of professional judgement and the law does not allow us to question the decision.
Mrs X believes the Council’s decision goes against Council policy and guidance but this is not the case. The specific information she quotes relates to ‘permitted development’ and relationships between facing elevations which do not apply to her neighbour’s development. In any event it is for the Council to consider the impact of any proposed development in deciding whether to grant planning permission and the evidence shows it has done that here.
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