Broxtowe Borough Council (19 006 034)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mr X complains of failure by the Council to take planning enforcement action after a developer raised the ground level at a property. However, Mr X does not live next door to the property, so there is no injustice to him.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall call Mr X, complains the Council has failed to take planning enforcement action after a developer raised the ground level at a property.
What I have investigated
- I have investigated whether there is any potential injustice to Mr X as he does not live next door to the property. I give my reason for not investigating the substantive complaint at the end of this statement.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I read Mr X’s complaint and checked planning documents available on the Council’s website. I spoke to Mr X by telephone. I shared a draft of this decision with both parties and invited their comments. I received none.
What I found
- A developer gained planning permission to build a property in the back garden of another property. Mr X says the developer has raised the ground level in the part of the back garden that remains with the original house.
- Mr X’s property does not share a boundary with the development site. Any increased ground level has not therefore caused him injustice. Any potential injustice from the increased ground level would only concern those whose properties border the site.
Final decision
- I have discontinued my investigation as there has been no injustice to Mr X.
Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate
- I have not investigated the substantive matter as Mr X has had no injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman