Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to take formal enforcement action for a breach of a planning condition. We have not seen enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Mrs B, complains the Council refuses to prosecute the Parish Council for breaching a planning condition.
2. She also complains about the actions of the Parish Council. However, Parish Councils are not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
4. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mrs B and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

7. Following an investigation, the Council served the Parish Council with a Breach of Condition Notice (the Notice).
8. Mrs B says the Council should require the Parish Council to carry out repairs.
9. Enforcement action is discretionary. Government guidance says “local planning authorities should act proportionately in responding to suspected breaches of planning control.”
10. In this case the Council decided not to take further action after it issued the Notice. It considered the action taken was proportionate and reasonable. We may not question the merits of decisions which have been properly made. We do not comment on judgements councils make unless they are affected by fault in the decision-making process.

Back to top

Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to justify investigating. We cannot investigate the actions of the Parish Council as such authorities are outside our jurisdiction.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman