Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council dealt with breaches of planning control. We have seen no good reason to investigate parts of the complaint that are late. And we consider that further investigation of the way the Council dealt with more recent breaches of planning control will not lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council failed to take timely of effective enforcement action against a breach of planning control near her home. She also says the Council relied on incorrect information when making its decision not to act.
2. Miss X says by failing to act the Council allowed the landowner to proceed with unlawful works for a year.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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)

5. 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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

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

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. In May 2024, the Council received reports of breaches of planning control on land near Miss X’s home.
9. The law says a complaint must be made to us within 12 month of a person becoming aware of the problem. Issues that Miss X was aware for more than 12 months before complaining to us are therefore late. We have seen no reason to exercise discretion on this point.
10. Further reports of breaches of planning control were reported in October 2024. It sought a retrospective planning application from the landowner.
11. In July 2025, the landowner put in a retrospective planning application to regularise the breaches of planning control on their land.
12. Miss X and others objected to the application. In October 2025, the Council refused the planning application. The landowner appealed to the Planning Inspectorate.
13. In April 2026, the Planning Inspector dismissed the appeal.
14. I understand Miss X believes the Council should have taken action to stop the unlawful development at the site when it received the reports of breaches of planning control. However, planning enforcement is discretionary and formal action should happen only when it would be a proportionate response to the breach.
15. As planning enforcement action is discretionary, councils may decide to take informal action or not to act at all. Informal action might include negotiating improvements, seeking an assurance or undertaking, or requesting submission of a planning application so they can formally consider the issues.
16. The Council was entitled to seek a retrospective application from the landowner. It was not appropriate to take enforcement action while it was considering the planning application. Also it could not take enforcement action while the appeal was in progress.
17. As the appeal has been dismissed it is now for the Council to decide what action, if any, it will take against the breaches of planning control.
18. We consider that further investigation at this time is unlikely to lead to a different outcome. We do expect to see some form of consideration and progress over a three-month period. It is open to Miss X to make a fresh complaint should further delay occur.

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Final decision

19. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because her complaint about matters occurring before December 2025 is late. And further investigation of the way the Council dealt with the later breaches of planning control is unlikely to lead to a different outcome at this time.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman