Summary: We will not investigate Mr and Mrs X’s complaint that they were misled about the costs of varying a planning condition by the Council and the Planning Portal. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council and we have no power to consider any complaint about the Planning Portal.

The complaint

1. The complainants, Mr and Mrs X, applied to the Council to vary a condition to a planning permission. They paid application charges amounting to nearly £300 but complain information about the charges available via the Planning Portal did not warn them they may have to pay legal fees as part of the application process.

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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 do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a government minister. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b), as amended)
4. The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister. The Planning Inspector considers appeals about:

• Delay – usually over eight weeks – by an authority in deciding an application for planning permission
• A decision to refuse planning permission
• Conditions placed on planning permission
• A planning enforcement notice.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. The Council is not responsible for the information published by the Planning Portal and as such it has no direct control over it.
7. The Planning Portal set out the planning application fees for an application to vary a condition and Mr and Mrs X paid this to put their application to the Council. The Council considered the application and informed Mr and Mrs X it would likely be approved but in order to proceed it would need to vary a legal agreement which would require both Mr and Mrs X and the Council to instruct solicitors. The Council estimated its costs at £1,500 and explained Mr and Mrs X would have to pay these costs, as well as their own legal fees.
8. The requirement to vary the legal agreement is specific to the planning permission and condition Mr and Mrs X sought to vary and is not a standard cost. We would not therefore expect the Council to advise all applicants of the possibility of this as an additional cost when making an application.
9. I have seen no evidence of fault by the Council and we have no power to consider any complaint about the Planning Portal.
10. Had Mr and Mrs X felt it unnecessary to vary the legal agreement and pay the Council’s costs for doing so they may have declined the Council’s request and appealed to the Planning Inspectorate. But instead they withdrew their application and forfeited their right of appeal.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman