Summary: Mr X complains on behalf of Mr P about planning permission granted for Mr P’s neighbour, enforcement action the Council should take against the neighbour, and about waste at the property. Mr X also complains that builders cut the electricity supply and stole from Mr P’s water supply. The Ombudsman has discontinued this investigation because Mr P has taken the matter to court, and therefore the matter is now out of our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains on behalf of Mr P that:
1. the Council should have met with Mr X and Mr P before it made a decision on the planning application for a neighbouring property;
2. the Council should revoke planning permission because the application contained false information;
3. the owner of the neighbouring property breached a planning condition so the Council should take enforcement action;
4. the owner’s builder cut the electricity supply to Mr P’s building and stole from Mr P’s water supply; and,
5. the Council has not taken action about waste from the neighbour’s property which is blocking Mr P’s fire exit.
2. Mr X says this has caused Mr P loss of rent because his tenants moved out, his tenants cannot use the garden because of the rubbish, and tenants did not have electricity. Mr X also says this caused Mr P financial loss because of money he spent on solicitors and loss of tenancies. He says Mr P spent time and trouble going to and from the property making checks.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
5. We may investigate complaints made on behalf of someone else if they have given their consent. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26A(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. Mr P has given written consent for Mr X to represent this complaint on his behalf.
7. I considered the information and documents provided by Mr X, Mr P and the Council. I spoke to Mr X about this complaint.

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What I found

What happened

8. Mr P owns a property which has four residential flats within it. These flats are occupied by tenants. The property has a back yard/garden area. This is adjacent to the rear of the neighbouring property (which is next door to Mr P’s property).
9. In 2016, the owner of the next-door property applied for planning permission to develop the property. The Council refused this planning application. The owner appealed to the Planning Inspector. Later in 2016, the Planning Inspector granted planning permission with certain conditions. One of these conditions was that the applicant had to submit details of materials to be used, which had to be agreed by the Council.
10. In April 2019, Mr X complained to the Council about the planning permission and development of the property next door to Mr P’s property. Mr X said there was a breach of planning permission to do with the materials being used, and the Council should therefore take enforcement action.
11. In May, the Council responded to this complaint. The Council said it had refused planning permission, but this had been overturned by the Planning Inspector. It said it visited the site regarding the materials used. The planning enforcement team had agreed with the owner that all unapproved materials would be removed and replaced. It said the enforcement team would visit again to make sure this was complied with.
12. In June, Mr X says he spoke to the director of planning and asked for a meeting to discuss the development of the neighbouring property. He says she promised to call back to arrange a meeting.
13. The next day, the Council approved the neighbouring owner’s application to discharge the planning condition to do with the materials being used. The Council discharged this condition.
14. Mr P then complained to the Ombudsman.
15. Mr X says that Mr P has now taken this matter to court. As I have said in paragraph four, we cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter because this is outside our jurisdiction. For this reason, I have discontinued the investigation.

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Final decision

16. I have discontinued this investigation because Mr P has taken his complaint to court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman