> | Accessiblity Options | Text Only | Text Size: A+ A- Reset | Links | Site Map
LGO Advice Team: 0300 061 0614
Quality and efficiency
Click here for speech assisted browser support
Files with this symbol 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
Planning applications Maladministration causing injustice
19 April 2008
The Council missed the deadline for refusing planning permission for a telecommunications mast, so the phone company received ‘deemed consent’ to erect it anyway. The Ombudsman finds that the Council also failed to tell residents what had happened, so they were shocked when the mast was built, as they were not expecting it. The mast was in place for six months, and the Ombudsman recommends the Council to pay £300 compensation to each of the four complainants, plus a further £250 each for their time and trouble. The Ombudsmen have received a considerable number of complaints about planning permission for telecommunications masts in the past few years, and they intend to issue a special report later this year, highlighting the lessons learned and setting out recommendations for the better handling of this type of planning application. ‘Mr Stewart’, ‘Mr Wood’, ‘Mr Curren’ and ‘Mr Potter’ (not their real names for legal reasons) complain that the Council was at fault in that it:
The Council admitted it was at fault over not determining the application in time, and encouraged the residents to complain to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman upheld the parts of the complaint about delay, but did not uphold the allegation that the Council failed to assist residents in pursuing the matter. He finds maladministration causing injustice and recommends that the Council should:
Date Published: 16/10/08
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