Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to take planning enforcement action against his neighbour. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault affecting the decision.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council has failed to take enforcement action against his neighbour for a breach of planning control.

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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 do not start an investigation if we decide 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 Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. We are not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
5. The Council acknowledges there is a breach of planning control but it has decided it does not cause significant harm and does not therefore warrant formal enforcement action. It has explained its decision to Mr X on several occasions and it was a decision it was entitled to reach. I have seen nothing to show the decision was affected by fault and we cannot therefore question it.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman