Uttlesford District Council (24 018 104)
Category : Planning > Enforcement
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 24 Mar 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council has dealt with possible breaches of planning control. This is because the complainant has not suffered any significant personal injustice.
The complaint
- Mr X has complained about how the Council has dealt with possible breaches of planning control.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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:
- any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
- any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Planning authorities can take enforcement action where there has been a breach of planning control. A breach of planning control includes circumstances where someone has built a development without permission. It is for the council to decide if there has been a breach of planning control and if it is expedient to take further action. Government guidance stresses the importance of affective enforcement action to maintain public confidence in the planning system but says councils should act proportionately.
- Mr X has complained about how the Council has dealt with the possible breaches. However, I do not consider he has suffered any significant personal injustice because of any alleged fault by the Council. Mr X does not live close to the site and is not impacted by the development.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has not suffered any significant personal injustice as a result of the alleged fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman