Summary: Mr X complained the Council did not tell him about an enforcement complaint and subsequent Planning Inspectorate appeal about a nearby property. Mr X said this meant he missed the chance to participate in the appeal hearing. We have found some fault by the Council for not telling Mr X when the Planning Inspectorate appeal was due to take place, however we do not consider this caused Mr X injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council did not tell him about an enforcement notice it issued to a nearby property, or about the subsequent appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.
2. Mr X said he registered with the Council’s website for updates with planning matters and missed the chance to put his view forward at the Planning Inspectorate appeal.

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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 consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), 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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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance. I sent a draft of this decision to Mr X and the Council for comments.

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What I found

What happened

7. Mr X lives in a rural location. Mr X registered with the Council’s website to receive updates on planning matters in his area.
8. A nearby neighbour applied for planning permission in 2021 to build an agricultural building, yard and some further outbuildings. Mr X received notification of this through the Council’s planning portal.
9. Mr X objected to the development. His objections included light pollution, noise pollution and damage to the character of the area.
10. The Council refused to grant planning permission in the summer of 2022.
11. In early 2023, the Council sent an enforcement notice to the same neighbour who had planning permission refused in 2022. This was after it received complaints from other residents. The enforcement notice related to the neighbour using a caravan as residential accommodation in the open countryside.
12. In spring 2023, the neighbour appealed to the Planning Inspectorate against the enforcement notice the Council had sent them. The Council sent notifications to those who had made an enforcement complaint to let them know the Planning Inspectorate would decide the case.
13. The Council sent its submission to the Planning Inspectorate in summer 2023. This included the impact of the development on the open countryside, landscape and character of the area. It also included objections about light pollution at night and the viability of the site.
14. In September 2023, Mr X contacted the Council by telephone about the original planning application made by the same neighbour as he did not know the result of this. The Council told Mr X about the Planning Inspectorate appeal. Mr X said the Council told him it did not notify him about the appeal as he did not register an interest and it was too late to send a written statement to the appeal. Mr X said the Council told him it would add him to the circulation list so he would know when the appeal hearing was scheduled and he could make comments at the hearing.
15. On 5 September 2023, the Council emailed Mr X and told him it was waiting for a date for the appeal and would send out notification letters once the date was confirmed. The email said Mr X could attend the appeal hearing and speak at it.
16. In December 2023, the Planning Inspectorate granted Mr X’s neighbour’s appeal and allowed them permission to develop.
17. In April 2024, Mr X contacted the Council as he had not heard anything. The Council told him the Planning Inspectorate granted the appeal. The Council said it did not explain when he contacted it in September 2023, that it would only send details of the appeal to those who had made an enforcement complaint.
18. Mr X raised a formal complaint in June 2024. Mr X said there was no procedure for the Council to tell the public and take part in an application which had gone to appeal with the Planning Inspectorate.
19. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint in July 2024. The Council said:
• The Planning Inspectorate appeal did not relate to the planning application Mr X commented on in 2021/2022. The neighbour lodged an appeal about an enforcement notice the Council sent following alleged breaches of planning control.
• For an enforcement appeal the Planning Inspectorate required the Council to notify occupiers of properties near the appeal site and any other persons who, in the Council’s opinion, were affected by the alleged breach of planning control. The Council said it did not notify Mr X about the appeal because he was not sent a copy of the enforcement notice, was not an immediate neighbour adjoining the enforcement site and did not submit a planning enforcement complaint.
20. Mr X asked the Council to review his complaint in late July 2024. Mr X said:
• He was an immediate neighbour to the appeal site.
• The Council’s planning portal provided no information on how to make an enforcement complaint and the Council did not tell him his neighbour appealed the enforcement notice.
• The Council told him part way through the appeal it would add him to the list of people it would contact about the hearing. Mr X said this did not happen and he missed the appeal hearing.
21. The Council provided its final response in August 2024. The Council said it did not tell him about the appeal as the site area was large and the development where the alleged breach of planning happened was over 100 meters away from Mr X’s home. The Council gave Mr X information on how to sign up for email alerts on its website to ensure he did not miss a planning application, appeal or enforcement notice in his area.
22. Mr X remained dissatisfied and complained to the Ombudsman.
23. In response to my enquiries, the Council said Mr X was only registered on its website to receive notifications about planning applications in its area. Therefore he would not have received any notifications about enforcement notices or appeals.

Analysis

24. The application Mr X commented on from his neighbour in 2021 was refused by the Council. Following this Mr X’s neighbour started to use part of the land in a way the Council believed was in breach of planning control. This did not relate to the planning permission the Council previously refused.
25. I do not consider the Council was at fault for not telling Mr X about the appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. Mr X did not make an enforcement complaint about how his neighbour was using the site. Further the Council has explained why it did not think it was necessary to tell Mr X about the appeal. This was because it considered Mr X’s property was too far away from the alleged breach and he did not complain about the site. While Mr X may disagree with this view, I am satisfied the Council considered whether to notify Mr X. I can see no fault in how it came to this decision.
26. After Mr X contacted the Council in September 2023, it should have told him the date of the appeal hearing once it found this out. This was because it agreed to tell Mr X the hearing date so he could speak at the hearing should he choose to. Failure to do so was fault.
27. While I have found fault, I do not consider this caused Mr X injustice. This is because the Council’s submissions to the Planning Inspectorate related to the same points Mr X said he would have raised had he known about the appeal hearing. On balance I do not consider Mr X attending the appeal hearing and speaking would have changed the outcome. In addition, Mr X did not make a planning enforcement complaint about the site as he was not aware of the alleged breach of planning control. Therefore I am satisfied the alleged breaches by the neighbour did not have any impact on Mr X or his property.
28. Mr X also raised concerns about not being notified about the enforcement notice and appeal despite signing up to receive notifications from the Council about planning matters in his area. The Council said Mr X was only registered to receive notifications of planning applications. I do not consider the Council at fault here. The Council explained to Mr X how he could register to receive notifications which included enforcement notices and appeals.

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Decision

I find fault not causing injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman