Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council considered a report of a breach of planning control. We have not seen enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has:
• failed to inspect the site of his reported breach of planning control
• failed to assess the relocation of his neighbour’s gazebo and mischaracterised it as a bench.

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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 the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Councils can take enforcement action if they find a breach of planning rules. However, councils should not take enforcement action just because there has been a breach of planning control.
6. 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.
7. The Council confirms it has investigated Mr X’s report of a breach of planning control. It did so using the photograph and information provided by Mr X and images from Google Maps. It is satisfied the wooden structure is:
• movable
• has been in roughly the same location for more than ten years
• is not in a conservation area
• has little to no impact on public amenity; and
• is not considered development.
8. The Ombudsman does not provide a right of appeal against the Council’s decision that there is no breach of planning control. Our role is to consider the process by which the Council has reached its decision.
9. As described above, planning enforcement is discretionary and there is no statutory requirement for the Council to carry out a site visit. In this case, it is satisfied there is no breach of planning control based on information provided by Mr X and from Google Maps images. We have not seen enough evidence of fault in the way the Council considered Mr X’s reports of breaches of planning control.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council considered his report of a breach of planning control.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman