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Planning applications Maladministration causing injustice
10 May 2007
Complaints were made by The Preservation Trust and by a group formed in response to the development of the site, about the grant of planning permission for a terrace of houses of modern design in the conservation area. They believe that administrative errors in the handling of the application led to planning permission being granted for a development which they consider inappropriate. The Ombudsman found that the Council’s Area Committee was not informed of the conservation officer’s concerns about the proposed development. Councillors therefore made their decision on the basis of incomplete information. However, the Ombudsman could not say with certainty that the decision would have been any different had this been known. Also, the Council was slow to take enforcement action against the developer for breaching conditions attached to the planning permission. The Ombudsman found maladministration that caused the complainants injustice in their sense of outrage that councillors had granted planning permission without knowing the views of the conservation officer, and because they will never know whether the development might have been avoided. In accordance with the Ombudsman’s recommendations, the Council has agreed to make a payment of £2,000 to the Preservation Trust to be used for a project of benefit to the conservation area.
Date Published: 17/10/08
are in .pdf format. To view these files you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. It can be downloaded below free of charge. Click To Download