Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to enforce planning permission. That is because it is a late complaint and there is no good reason to exercise discretion and consider it now.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s decision not to take planning enforcement action after a developer did not install a boundary treatment. He said there was meant to be an evergreen hedge between his property and the new development, but it had not been planted. Mr X believes there is bias in the Council’s planning department in favour of developers. He wants the Council to take enforcement action and improve transparency in its decision making.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. 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)
4. 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 injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council did not enforce planning permissions at the development. The Council wrote to Mr X in 2021 stating it did not intend to take enforcement action. Mr X did not complain to the Ombudsman until 2025. Therefore, this complaint is late and there is no good reason to exercise discretion and consider it now. It was reasonable for Mr X to complain to us sooner if he was unhappy with the Council’s decision making.
8. We will also not investigate Mr X’s complaint the Council’s planning department demonstrates bias in its decision making. That is because we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm or distress as a direct result of faults or failures by an organisation. Mr X has not suffered a direct, personal injustice by the Council’s actions.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman