Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of various planning applications, including its refusal of Mr X’s own planning application. This is because his complaint is a late complaint and so falls outside our jurisdiction and, in relation to his own application, we cannot investigate it because he exercised his appeal rights to the Planning Inspectorate which places the matter outside our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of various planning applications in his area, including its refusal of his own application. He says he wants the applications whose decisions he disagrees with to be remedied and to receive compensation and the prosecution of the officers involved.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a tribunal or a government minister or started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6), as amended)
5. The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister. The Planning Inspector considers appeals about:

• Delay – usually over eight weeks – by an authority in deciding an application for planning permission
• A decision to refuse planning permission
• Conditions placed on planning permission
• A planning enforcement notice.

6. We normally expect someone to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner if they have a complaint about data protection. However, we may decide to investigate if we think there are good reasons. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered information provided by the complainant, including the Council’s response to his complaint.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. Mr X has complained about various planning decisions by the Council over the years, including applications by neighbours and his own application which the Council refused and about which Mr X lost an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.
10. The restriction highlighted at paragraph 4 applies to Mr X’s complaint about his own planning application. We cannot investigate the matter because Mr X appealed against the Council’s decision to the Planning Inspectorate so placing the complaint outside our jurisdiction. We have no discretion here.
11. With regards to past planning applications relating to properties in his area, the restriction highlighted at paragraph 3 applies. As we would reasonably have expected Mr X to have complained to us sooner, the complaint falls outside our jurisdiction due to the passage of time and will not be investigated.
12. If Mr X has a new complaint about a development not being built in accordance with the planning permission granted, it is open to him to pursue the matter with the Council through its complaints procedure in the first instance and, if he remains dissatisfied with the outcome, he can make a new complaint to us.
13. If Mr X has a complaint about FOI requests and data protection issues, the Information Commissioner’s Office is the body best placed to deal with such matters and we will not investigate them.

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Final decision

14. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because his complaint is a late complaint and so falls outside our jurisdiction and, in relation to his own application, we cannot investigate it because he exercised his appeal rights to the Planning Inspectorate which places the matter outside our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman