Summary: Mr X complains the Council has not dealt properly with a planning enforcement issue. Mr X has a right of appeal to the Planning Inspector and has reached an agreement with the Council. I have therefore discontinued my investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, complains the Council did not deal properly with a planning enforcement issue related to his home.
2. Mr X says he has been deprived of a right of appeal as a result.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
5. 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 or continue an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.
6. The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister. The Planning Inspector considers appeals about:

• A decision to refuse planning permission
• A planning enforcement notice.

7. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a government minister. The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of a government minister. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b), as amended)
8. It is our decision whether to start, and when to end an investigation into something the law allows us to investigate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

9. I spoke to Mr X about his complaint and considered documents he provided. I considered documents available from the Council.
10. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

What happened?

11. This is a brief chronology of key events. It does not contain everything I reviewed during my investigation.
12. Mr X undertook some work to his property.
13. The Council decided this work required planning permission.
14. Mr X submitted a retrospective planning application, which the Council refused. It told him how he could appeal its decision.
15. There was a substantial delay before the Council issued a planning enforcement notice to Mr X.
16. Mr X submitted an appeal to the Planning Inspector about the planning application refusal. The Planning Inspector did not accept the appeal as it was out of time.

Analysis

17. Since Mr X’s complaint to the Ombudsman, the Council has withdrawn and re-issued the planning enforcement notice to Mr X.
18. Mr X says he has reached an agreement with the Council about the planning enforcement issues.
19. I have therefore discontinued my investigation.

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Final decision

20. Mr X has reached an agreement with the Council. I have discontinued my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman