Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to tell the complainant of progress of a planning enforcement case and associated matters. The complainant also says the Council failed to proactively upload documents to its website. It is unlikely that an investigation will lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Mr B, complains the Council failed to keep him informed on the progress of a planning enforcement case for a site close to his home. He also complains the Council failed to upload information to its website without him chasing this.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact 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 or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr B and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Following a planning enforcement investigation in 2015, the Council received a planning application for an enforcement investigation on site close to Mr B’s home. The application was for change of use of part of the site to five Romany Gypsy pitches including five static caravans, five touring caravans and associated works. The Council refused planning permission. The applicant appealed. The Planning Inspectorate dismissed the appeal in January 2017.
6. In 2020 the Council issued an Enforcement Notice (EN) to stop using the land for stationing and storing caravans. And to remove the caravans and all associated paraphernalia. The site owner was given six months to comply with the EN.
7. The Council says it inspected the site and is satisfied with compliance with the EN. It says the removal of a small part of hedgerow, creation of a bund on the site boundary and provision of water to the site remain but decided this is not sufficient to justify further action.
8. The Council says the remaining part of the site benefits from planning permission for use by a single Traveller family.
9. In 2004, the Planning Inspector granted permission to extend a day room to form a bungalow. The permission includes a condition that no other mobile home or caravan may be brought onto the site without the Council’s permission.
10. At some point after 2016 a mobile home was placed on the site. The Council served an EN in 2021 requiring removal of the caravan by August 2022.
11. Mr B told the Council the caravan is still on the site. It told him the owner has appealed against the EN. It later told him the applicant has applied for permission to remove the condition preventing the location of a caravan on the site.
12. Mr B has objected to the application to remove the condition. He can comment on the appeal against the EN which remains in progress.

Assessment

13. The Council acknowledges there have been delays in dealing with the breaches of planning control. It has apologised for this citing staffing issues as a mitigating factor.
14. Mr B says if he had not raised the issue with the Council there would be no documents about the EN on the Council website. He also complains the Council failed to tell him about the appeal in a timely manner. Mr B says he wants to know if the Council diligently followed its procedures and standards. If it did he believes the procedures need updating. If it did not follow procedures then staff should be reprimanded.

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Final decision

15. We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint. I agree he has had to chase the Council for information but there is little that an investigation would achieve at this time. If the planning application and appeals are refused then we would expect the Council to deal with enforcement in a timely manner. If it does not Mr B can make a new complaint. If the Council grants permission to remove the condition or the Planning Inspector grants the appeal then no enforcement action will be required.
16. In addition, we cannot require the Council to take disciplinary action against staff.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman