Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s grant of planning permission for development which encroaches onto his land. This is because the Council is not responsible for the encroachment; Mr X’s remedy for the issue lies in a claim against his neighbour rather than the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council granted his neighbour planning permission to build on his property more than four years ago. He says his neighbour completed the wrong certificate when applying for planning permission and claimed they owned all the land involved.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Any person may apply for planning permission for land owned by any other. The Council as local planning authority must consider any valid application for planning permission and cannot refuse an application simply because the applicant does not own all the land to which the application relates.
5. When applying for planning permission an application is required to make a declaration confirming they either own all the land or that they have informed the relevant landowners of the application; this is to ensure those with an interest in the land have an opportunity to comment on the proposal.
6. The application process looks at the principle of the development and whether it is acceptable in planning terms. It does not provide a mechanism to determine boundary disputes and a grant of planning permission does not give someone any right to build on land they do not own.
7. In this case Mr X says it was clear from the plans that his neighbour’s development encroached onto his land but the issue does not appear to have been raised with the Council at the time.
8. However, even if the issue had been raised with the Council it could not have used it to refuse the application. The Council determined the proposal was acceptable and if Mr X believes his neighbour has encroached onto his land he may wish to seek legal advice about making a claim against them. The Council is not responsible for the actions of Mr X’s neighbour and it is not its role or responsibility to resolve the boundary dispute.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council is not responsible for the injustice Mr X claims.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman