Summary: Mrs X complained that the Council failed follow its own procedure when dealing with her reports of breaches of planning regulations which she said affected the value of her property and caused frustration. We find the Council at fault for significant delays in deciding whether to initiate enforcement action and not taking corrective action when it said it would. We find this caused Mrs X injustice. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a symbolic payment, and decide whether it will take enforcement action.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s handling of her reports of breaches of planning regulations regarding a development next to her home. In particular she complains the Council failed to follow its own procedure regarding enforcement action after it confirmed it had found breaches more than two years ago.
2. Mrs X complains the Council’s failings depreciated the value and affected the enjoyment of her home because the development is different to the approved plans; and caused her anxiety and frustration.

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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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. 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)
5. 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)

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What I have and have not investigated

6. I have investigated all elements of Mrs X’s complaint despite it starting more than 12 months ago and being a late complaint. The evidence shows Mrs X believed the Council was taking action on the complaint, and she did not allow the matter to rest for more than a few months. I decided these are good reasons not to have complained sooner.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
8. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Planning permission

9. Councils should approve planning applications that accord with policies in the local development plan, unless other material planning considerations indicate they should not.

Planning Enforcement

10. Councils can take enforcement action if they find planning rules have been breached. However, councils should not take enforcement action just because there has been a breach of planning control.
11. Planning enforcement is discretionary and formal action should happen only when it would be a proportionate response to the breach. When deciding whether to enforce, councils should consider the likely impact of harm to the public and whether they might grant approval if they were to receive an application for the development or use.
12. As planning enforcement action is discretionary, councils may decide to take informal action or not to act at all. Informal action might include negotiating improvements, seeking an assurance or undertaking, or requesting submission of a planning application so they can formally consider the issues.
13. Government guidance says: “Effective enforcement is important as a means of maintaining public confidence in the planning system. Enforcement action is discretionary, and local planning authorities should act proportionately in responding to suspected breaches of planning control.” (National Planning Policy Framework September 2023, paragraph 59)

Planning Enforcement Options

14. Councils have a range of options for formal planning enforcement action available to them, including:

• Planning Contravention Notices – to require information from the owner or occupier of land and provide an opportunity to rectify the alleged breach.
• Planning Enforcement Notices – where there is evidence of a breach, to identify it and require action to remedy it.
• Stop Notices - to prohibit activities without further delay where it is essential to safeguard the public.
• Breach of Condition Notices – to require compliance with the terms of planning conditions already decided necessary for approval of the development.
• Injunctions – by application to the High Court or County Court, the Council may seek an order to restrain an actual or expected breach of planning control.

15. However, as planning enforcement action is discretionary, councils may decide to take informal action or not to act at all. Informal action might include negotiating improvements, seeking an assurance or undertaking, or requesting submission of a planning application so they can formally consider the issues.

What happened

16. The Council approved planning permission for a development on land immediately next to Mrs X’s home.
17. Three years later Mrs X first reported significant elements of the development breached the planning permission. She said it caused privacy issues and was an eyesore. The Council commenced an enforcement investigation and a Planning Enforcement Officer visited the site.
18. The Council contacted the person responsible for the development and informed them of numerous issues including:

• Elements were variously too large, too close to the boundary, and of the wrong material.
• The level of the site had been altered without permission.

19. The Council asked the person for information with the aim of resolving the apparent breaches. It gave a four week deadline.
20. The person did not meet the deadline. The Council made contact and said it would consider formal enforcement action.
21. The Council subsequently received some but not all the information it had requested. It did not resolve the potential breaches. I have seen no evidence the Council pursued the matter properly until 2024, more than two years after Mrs X reported her concerns.
22. Throughout 2023 Mrs X periodically contacted the Council seeking an update. The Council has no record it provided any response after March 2023.
23. In January 2024 Mrs X formally complained to the Council about its lack of action to address the planning issues. The Council did not reply to Mrs X’s complaint until May. Mrs X was not happy with the reply and escalated her complaint to stage two of the complaint process.
24. The Council contacted the person responsible for the development again. It said the information it had received in 2022, approximately 20 months earlier, was not sufficient. It said they should submit a revised planning application.
25. The Council contacted the person again. It sent a letter that detailed the lack of compliance and requested they submit a revised planning application within four weeks. It said failure to comply may result in formal enforcement action.
26. The Council responded to Mrs X’s escalated complaint. It upheld her complaint. It accepted it had not met its 100-day target of resolving planning enforcement complaints. It also accepted it had not met its target to update complainants every 8 weeks. It apologised to Mrs X for not addressing or responding to her concerns in a timely manner.
27. The Council told Mrs X a manager would monitor the investigation. It said if a valid revised planning application were not submitted, it would decide whether it would take formal enforcement action. It said it would do this as quickly as practicable and tell her its decision. In September it told Mrs X a planning application had not been submitted and it would contact the owners again.
28. I have seen no evidence a revised planning application has been submitted. In February 2025 Mrs X said the Council had not contacted her with a decision about enforcement action.

Analysis

29. The Council opened a planning enforcement investigation into the concerns raised by Mrs X. It identified planning breaches but did not commence enforcement. In 2024, more than two years later, the breaches remained and the Council had still not decided whether it would take enforcement action. It accepted it had failed to address the matter in a timely manner. It said it would make a decision on enforcement action as soon as practicable and inform Mrs X of its decision. I have seen no evidence it has made this decision to date despite undertaking to do so in a timely manner.
30. The Council is at fault for its initial delay in deciding whether to take enforcement action, its failure to keep Mrs X updated, and the later delay in taking the action it said it would in its complaint response. This has caused Mrs X ongoing injustice in the form of distress; specifically uncertainty and significant frustration.
31. I have considered our Guidance on Remedies and consider the injustice warrants an apology, a symbolic payment to acknowledge the distress caused and corrective action.

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Action

32. Within four weeks of the date of the final decision the Council will:

• Apologise to Mrs X for the injustice caused. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
• Pay Mrs X a symbolic payment of £100 to acknowledge the injustice.
• Take corrective action by making a decision whether and how it will take enforcement action, and provide Mrs X with a written explanation of its decision.

33. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

34. I have completed my investigation and uphold Mrs X’s complaint. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed actions to remedy the injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman