The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a planning application. This is because planning permission has not been granted. Therefore it is not yet possible to determine if the complainant has suffered any significant injustice because of the alleged fault.
The complaint
Mrs X complains about the way the Council considered a planning application for a development in the area where she lives. Mrs X says: Officers worked together to mislead, influence, and pressurise the Planning Committee The Planning Officer lied to the Planning Committee The committee failed to follow the correct process.
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 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 Mrs X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X complains about the Council’s handling of a planning application. She says the local community will have no protection from the new development which will exacerbate flooding.
Mrs X wants the Council to reconsider the decision to approve the application subject to completion of a section 106 legal agreement, using a Planning Officer from another authority.
The planning application has not yet been determined and so the injustice is speculative and insufficient to warrant investigation. The legal agreement may not be completed and therefore the Council will not be able to grant planning permission. Mrs X may make a complaint to this office if the Authority grants the planning permission.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we do not consider she has suffered a significant personal injustice as the planning permission has not been granted.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman