The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s response to a consultation request from the local planning authority. This is because the complainant has not suffered significant injustice.
The complaint
Mr X has complained about how the Council responded to a consultation request from the local planning authority. Mr X says the Council ignored guidance and changed its decision to object to the planning application even though the proposal remained the same.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We 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. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide: 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 information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X has raised concerns about the Council’s response to a consultation request from the local planning authority for a planning application in the area where he lives. Mr X says the development would have a significant impact on highway safety and create traffic and parking issues. However, I do not consider Mr X has suffered any significant injustice because of any alleged fault by the Council as the planning application was refused.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has not suffered significant injustice as a result of the alleged fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman