Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to take planning enforcement action in relation to land behind his home. We ended our investigation because the issues Mr X complained about were either already resolved or the responsibility for another authority.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to take planning enforcement action in relation to land behind his home.

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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:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I read the complaint and discussed it with Mr X. I read the Council’s response to the complaint and considered documents from its planning files, including the plans and the case officer’s report.
4. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Planning law and guidance

5. Councils have a range of options for formal planning enforcement action available to them, including:
• Planning Contravention Notices – to require information from the owner or occupier of land and provide an opportunity to rectify the alleged breach;
• Planning Enforcement Notices – where there is evidence of a breach, to identify it and require action to remedy it;
• Stop Notices - to prohibit activities without further delay where it is essential to safeguard the public;
• Breach of Condition Notices – to require compliance with the terms of planning conditions already determined necessary for approval of the development;
• Injunctions – by application to the High Court or County Court, the Council may seek an order to restrain an actual or expected breach of planning control.
6. However, as planning enforcement action is discretionary, councils may decide to take informal action or not to act at all. Informal action might include negotiating improvements, seeking an assurance or undertaking, or requesting submission of a planning application so they can formally consider the issues.

What happened

7. Mr X complained about the Council’s failure to take formal enforcement action against the owner of land behind his home. His concerns related to two separate issues:
• A container that had been placed on the land without planning permission. Mr X said it was unsightly and affected his outlook; and
• Soil had been imported onto the land from a site a few miles away, and during works, a private sewer was damaged.
8. During the course of my investigation, the Council confirmed that:
• the importation of soil happened several years ago, and in any event was a matter for the County Council waste and minerals planning authority;
• Mr X had been contacted by the County Council about this matter; and
• the container had been removed from the land.
9. I discussed the Council’s response with Mr X and he was satisfied that the matter was now resolved. Mr X also told me that negotiations to resolve the problem with the sewer are ongoing and not part of this complaint.

My findings

10. Before we begin or continue our investigations, we need evidence to show it is likely there was fault in the decision making process that caused the individual complainant a significant injustice that we can remedy. We rely on the injustice to the complainant to justify the disruptions our investigations inevitably cause to the day-to-day work of council officers and the pressure that is placed on the public purse.
11. In this case, the matters Mr X complained about are no longer continuing and are resolved to his satisfaction. The importation of waste was a matter for a different authority, which is already aware of the situation. For these reasons, I should not continue my investigation.

Final decision

12. I ended my investigation because the matters complained about have now been resolved.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman