The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s delays in handling a planning application. This is because we cannot achieve the outcome Mrs X is looking for.
The complaint
Mrs X complained the Council did not properly consider her planning application in good time. She said because the Council delayed its consideration, she had to unnecessarily submit a new planning application, at an additional cost to her. Mrs X wants the Council to reimburse her the costs of the second application.
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 we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X said she followed the Council’s planning process after she submitted a planning application. She said at a late stage in the process, near to the time when the Council was due to decide that application, it told her it needed more information about one aspect of her application.
On the options available to Mrs X at that stage, she decided to amend her existing application, to allow the Council to consider her original application solely on the merits of the main aspect that did not need any additional information.
The available evidence shows Mrs X did this, because she had planned building works to start within weeks of the anticipated timescales on an approved application. Mrs X then submitted a second application, to allow for the issues the Council had raised, about the secondary aspect, to be resolved in time and for the building work on the main aspect, to start as planned.
During the Council’s complaint procedures, it accepted the issues it raised concerning part of the first application, could have been raised sooner in the process. But it declined to refund Mrs X the fee for her second application.
I will not investigate this complaint, because I cannot achieve the outcome Mrs X is looking for.
We may recommend a remedy for personal injustice, caused by administrative fault. And I acknowledge the reasons that Mrs X has cited for why she felt compelled to submit a second application, rather than pause the planned building works until her original application had been completed. But this was a decision she took and therefore I could not say even on balance of probabilities, that the injustice Mrs X is looking to have remedied; the refund of a second application, is wholly attributed to the Council’s actions only.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because we cannot achieve the outcome she is looking for.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman