Mr A complained about Carmarthenshire County Council’s handling of his complaint concerning planning enforcement on a neighbouring property. Mr A said that he felt he had been treated unfairly by the Council and that it failed to provide a timely response to his complaint. Further, it failed to act impartially in its investigation and failed to respond to all issues raised and take into account all relevant facts.
The Ombudsman found that the evidence supported Mr A in that his complaint had not been investigated appropriately. He found that there appeared to be a number of omissions and discrepancies in the Council’s initial investigation of the alleged breach of planning consent and subsequently its investigation into Mr A’s complaint about these matters.
The Ombudsman contacted the Council and it agreed to, within 20 working days: · Appoint an independent consultant to investigate all aspects of Mr A’s complaint, and to review Carmarthenshire County Council’s handling of the matters complained about.
· Make a financial redress payment of £250 to Mr A in recognition of the avoidable time and trouble to which he had been put in pursuing his complaint.
The Ombudsman was satisfied that this would provide a resolution to the issues considered in this complaint.