Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with breaches of planning control. This is because the complainant has not been caused any personal injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I will refer to as Mr X, has complained about how the Council has dealt with a breach of planning control at a site near his home. He says the matter has been going on for some time and the Council has failed to take any action.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered Mr X’s complaint and the Council’s responses. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision and have considered his comments in response.

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What I found

4. Planning authorities can take enforcement action where there has been a breach of planning control. A breach of planning control includes circumstances where someone has built a development without permission or not complied with a planning condition. However, it is for the Council to decide if there has been a breach of planning control and if it is expedient to take further action. Government guidance stresses the importance of effective enforcement action to maintain public confidence in the planning system but says councils should act proportionately. Informal action can often be the quickest and most cost-effective way of achieving a satisfactory result.
5. The Council can make an agreement with a developer under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act to make a development which would otherwise be unacceptable in planning terms, acceptable.

What happened

6. The Council received a planning application for a development near Mr X’s home. The Council considered the application and granted permission subject to conditions. The developer was required to complete offsite highway works as part of an agreement under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act.
7. In 2017, Mr X contacted the Council to complain that the developer had carried out boundary and landscaping works without permission. He also said the highway works had not been completed.
8. The Council has accepted that the necessary works have not been carried out. It says there has been a delay in this regard due to a difference of opinion between its planning and highway departments. The Council says the section 106 agreement can only be enforcement by the courts. However, it is now working with the developer to reach an agreement.
9. Mr X is unhappy with the Council’s response. He says the matter has already been going on for some time and the dropped kerbs that should have been implemented as part of the development would allow improved access for disabled residents.

Assessment

10. I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council dealt with a breach of planning control. This is because Mr X has not been caused any personal injustice.
11. I understand it has been some time since Mr X complained to the Council and that he has said the works to the highway will improve access for disabled residents. But Mr X has not been caused any personal injustice by the matter. Furthermore, it is for the Council to decide what, if any, formal action it will take. In this case, the Council has not yet decided if it will take formal action or if it will require the developer to install the dropped kerbs. Therefore, even if it could be shown that Mr X has been personally affected by the developer’s failure to carry out the highway works, I could not yet reach a view on the extent of any injustice caused.

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Final decision

12. The Ombudsman should not investigate this complaint. This is because Mr X has not been caused any personal injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman