Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint about the Council not taking planning enforcement action about his neighbour’s fence. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains the Council has refused to take planning enforcement action about his neighbour’s fence which is a breach of planning control because it is over 2 metres high. Mr B says the Council has wrongly decided the fence is not taller than 2 metres. Mr B says the fence is a safety risk because it blocks his boiler flue. Mr B also says his neighbour has damaged his fence and has left screws protruding onto his side of the boundary.

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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 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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation into Mr B’s complaint.
6. The Council has visited the site to investigate Mr B’s concerns. The Council was correct to measure the fence from the ground level of the property where the fence is located.
7. Even if the Council got this measurement wrong and the fence is slightly taller than 2 metres, the Council has explained that enforcement action has to be proportionate to the breach of planning control.
8. The Council was correct to say that Mr B’s concerns about the fence are civil matters between him and his neighbour.
9. Planning decisions must be based on material considerations. These relate to the use and development of land in the public interest, and not to private considerations such as the applicant’s personal conduct, covenants or reduction in the value of a property. Material considerations include issues such as overlooking, traffic generation and noise.
10. Mr B’s concerns about property damage and the impact on his boiler flue are not material considerations. So, the Council would not be able to take Mr B’s concerns into account when deciding whether to take enforcement action or whether to grant planning permission for the fence.
11. So, we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman