Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about planning enforcement as there is no evidence of fault by the Council causing injustice.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains that the Council has not enforced breaches of planning permission for a neighbour’s property.

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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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, 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

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X says that her neighbour failed to comply with planning permission conditions and the Council failed to enforce those conditions.
6. The planning permission itself was investigated by the Ombudsman and he concluded that there was no evidence of fault by the Council.
7. Since then Ms X says that conditions that were required to be carried out by the applicant prior to commencement were not carried out.
8. The Council says that, even if those conditions were not complied with at the correct time, they had all be completed by August 2022. The Council argues that, even if the development had commenced unlawfully, it became lawful once that work was completed. The Council says that enforcement would not have been proportionate whilst the developer was working proactively with the Council to address any breaches.
9. There remains an outstanding enforcement issue relating to a bathroom window which the complainant says will be the subject of a new planning application.
10. The planning enforcement process we expect is as follows. We expect councils to consider allegations and decide what, if any, investigation is necessary. If the council decides there is a breach of control, it must consider what harm is caused to the public before deciding how to react. Providing the council is aware of its powers and follows this process, it is free to make its own judgement on how or whether to act.
11. I am satisfied that the Council has considered its discretionary powers when considering enforcement action. Ms X's dissatisfaction lies with the merits of the Council's decision (not to do so) but, in the absence of fault, the Ombudsman cannot criticise the Council's decision.
12. Nor am I persuaded that any technical breaches of the planning permission conditions have any significant effect upon Ms X’s amenity (given the distances of the building to hers and the Planning Officer’s previous conclusion that her amenity would not be affected by the planning permission).

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman