Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to taken enforcement action against his neighbour. We have not seen evidence of fault in the Council’s actions. Nor will further investigation lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Mr X, says the Council has failed to take action against his neighbour’s raised decking and fencing which are in breach of planning control.
2. Mr X suggests the Council is corrupt.

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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, or
• 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

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

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My assessment

6. The Council says it visited Mr X’s neighbour in 2017. Officers advised the neighbour the deck and fencing required planning permission. They advised the neighbour to put in a retrospective planning application. The neighbour chose not to. The Council decided not to take enforcement action as it was not expedient to do so. Having inspected the breach and considered the matter, this is a decision the Council is entitled to make.
7. In 2021, Mr X raised the issued again. The Council confirms that by this time the deck and fences had been in place for four years and are therefore immune from enforcement action.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because I have not seen enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions. It inspected the site in 2017 and decided not to take enforcement action against the breach of planning control. The deck and fencing are now immune from enforcement action because of the passage of time.
9. Mr X has not provided any evidence to support his suggestion of corruption. This is a serious allegation. If he has supporting evidence Mr X should contact the police as this is a criminal offence.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman