Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council considered a breach of planning control at the complainant’s home. We have not seen enough evidence of fault to warrant our involvement.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council has told her she has breached planning permission and advised if she does not carry our remedial work it will serve an enforcement notice.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms X replaced a hedge at the front of her property with a fence.
6. A Council planning enforcement officer visited her property and told Ms X she needs planning permission for the fence as it is more than one metre high and next to the highway. The officer then sent her an email confirming the fence is unauthorised and to regularise the breach of planning control she must:
• remove the fence; or
• reduce the height of the fence to less than one metre; or
• put in a retrospective planning application for fence.

They also advised the fence is unlikely to get planning permission and suggested she considered moving it one or two metres closer to her house and planting a hedge in front of it. But this was an informal suggestion and there is no guarantee permission would be granted for this.

7. Ms X disagrees that planning permission is needed because she has replaced a hedge with a fence. The hedge did not need planning permission. However, the law requires that any fence more then a metre high which is next to a highway has planning permission.
8. I understand Ms X disagrees that she needs planning permission for her fence. However, permitted development (work which can be carried out without planning permission) regulations state:

“A. Permitted development

The erection, construction, maintenance, improvement or alteration of a gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure.

A.1 Development not permitted

Development is not permitted by Class A if—

(a)the height of any gate, fence, wall or means of enclosure erected or constructed adjacent to a highway used by vehicular traffic would, after the carrying out of the development, exceed one metre above ground level”

9. I also understand Ms X found the Officer’s unannounced visit to her property upsetting. However, the Council’s planning enforcement officers have the power to investigate alleged breaches of planning control. This includes the power to enter land without appointments.
10. The Council says it has told Ms X that if she does not put in plans to regularise the breach of planning control on her property by a given deadline it will serve an Enforcement Notice.
11. If the Council serves an Enforcement Notice, Ms X will have the right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate against it.
12. Ms X says the Council will not her recognise her need for the fence because of noise from the road. Or listen to her concerns about speeding traffic. These are not planning matters. Ms X can report road safety concerns including speeding to the police.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we have not seen enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions regarding her fence.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman