The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of applications for development on land near the complainants' home. There is not enough evidence that fault by the Council has caused them a significant personal injustice.
The complaint
Mr and Mrs X complain about the Council’s handling of a planning application and listed building consent application for a development on land near their home.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We can investigate 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. So, we do not start an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered: the information submitted by Mr and Mrs X.
information about the planning application on the Council’s planning portal.
the report to the Planning Committee and the minutes of the meeting.
the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement.
the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
I appreciate Mr and Mrs X were very concerned about the proposed development and have raised a number of issues about the way the Council handled the associated applications.
But we do not investigate all the complaints we receive. Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures by the organisation. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter or does not directly flow from the alleged faults.
In my view, there is not enough evidence to conclude that fault by the Council has directly caused Mr and Mrs X a significant injustice, so we will not start an investigation. In reaching this view, I am mindful that: The planning application was refused.
Despite Mr and Mrs X’s concerns about the notification process, they were aware of the applications and were able to submit their objections.
There will inevitably be some time and trouble involved in objecting to planning applications and pursuing a subsequent complaint. The amount of effort invested by Mr and Mrs X was a matter of their own choosing, and not something which inevitably and directly flowed from any fault by the Council.
Similarly, whilst residents were entitled to decide to instruct a planning consultant to submit and present objections on their behalf, I am not persuaded this was a decision they were forced to take as a direct result of any fault in the Council’s handling of the application.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence that fault by the Council has caused them a significant injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman