Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council dealt with Mr X’s report of a breach of planning control. The Council is at fault for failing to notice a difference in measurements on the approved plans. However, further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome. This is because what is built is smaller than one of the approved plans and the Council is unlikely to consider it expedient to take enforcement action.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council refuses to take enforcement action against a breach of planning control at his neighbour’s property. He says it has applied unfair and inconsistent reasoning and is favouring his neighbour.

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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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. The Council approved a planning permission on the condition the applicant follows the approved plans. However, the block plan shows a smaller extension that the floor plans.
6. Mr X complained the neighbour has not followed the block plan. The Council visited the site and measured the building. It confirms that the building is larger than the measurements shown on the block plan. However, it is smaller than the measurements on the floor plan.
7. The Council says the main purpose of a block plan is to identify the siting of the development which is necessary so that it can identify neighbours and surrounding roads and features. It says the measurements are taken from the more detailed floor plans. However, the planning permission granted by the Council named the extension must be built according to a specific drawing which included both the block plan and the floor plan.
8. The Council is at fault for failing to notice different measurements on the approved plans. Also, a lack of detail about the dimensions of the proposed works in the planning officers’ report means we cannot fully understand how it assessed the proposal.
9. However, we consider that further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome. This is because the Council would likely consider it not expedient to take enforcement action against the development because the building is smaller than is shown on one of the approved plans.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because, although the Council is at fault for failing to notice different measurements on the approved plans, it is unlikely that further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman