Mrs A complained about various issues connected to a Club which adjoins her property. Her concerns primarily related to the Council’s failure to take any planning enforcement action against the Club.
The Ombudsman found that Swansea Council (“the Council”) had considered Mrs A’s complaint appropriately and explained that the Club had been in situ for many years, and pre-dated Mrs A’s purchase of her property, and why, in planning terms, it was unable to take action against the Club for the historic planning matters raised. The Ombudsman considered the Council’s response was detailed and reasonable in this regard.
However, the Ombudsman considered that the Council could take some action in relation to Mrs A’s complaints about the erection of a recent structure without planning permission and complaints of noise nuisance which the Council had not formally addressed as these complaints were made during the national lockdown resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
Following contact from the Ombudsman, the Council agreed to visit the Club to consider Mrs A’s complaint about the recently erected shelter and advise her of the status of the building in planning terms, and to also assess her noise concerns.