Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of a planning enforcement matter. This is because the injustice Mr X claims stems from the actions of his neighbour rather than any fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council has failed to resolve his concerns about his neighbour’s extension. He says the Council did not send anyone out to inspect the work and has not responded to his objections to his neighbour’s planning application.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Where someone reports a possible breach of planning control to their local planning authority (usually the district, borough or city council) the council should investigate and decide what action to take. Depending on the extent of the breach and its impact the council may decide not to take any action, it may take formal enforcement action or it may invite a retrospective planning application to determine if the development as-built is acceptable.
6. Mr X is unhappy the Council has not resolved his concerns about his neighbour’s extension but it is clear it has investigated the issue. The neighbour has now submitted a retrospective planning application and the Council is in the process of determining it. Mr X has objected to the proposal and the planning officer must take his objections into account, but we would not expect the Council to respond to his objections directly. The Council’s failure to respond does not therefore amount to fault.
7. Councils can only consider ‘material’ planning issues in determining an application for planning permission and deciding whether to take formal enforcement action for breaches of planning control. These include issues such as the impact of development on neighbour amenities, including privacy and light to their property. Mr X has raised no such concerns; his comments focus on encroachment of his neighbour’s development onto the shared boundary and the removal of a shared drain pipe. But these are private civil matters between Mr X and his neighbour, rather than planning considerations. The Council cannot therefore take them into account in determining the neighbour’s planning permission or deciding whether to take enforcement action for any breaches of planning control and we cannot say it must resolve these issues. Mr X may wish to obtain legal advice about making a claim against his neighbour.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the injustice Mr X claims results from the actions of his neighbour rather than any fault by the Council. We cannot therefore achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mr X by investigating further.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman