Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to deal with a breach of a planning enforcement notice. The Council has confirmed it has an enforcement investigation ongoing. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation by us.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council failed to deal with planning breaches at a site close to his home. Mr X says the Council served an enforcement notice on the landowner but no further action has been taken. Mr X says he continues to be affected by lighting, noise, late night activity and vehicles at the site and wants the Council to pursue enforcement.

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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, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• 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

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. Planning authorities can take enforcement action where there has been a breach of planning control. It is for the Council to decide if there has been a breach of planning control and if it is expedient to take further action. Planning enforcement is discretionary and formal action should happen only when it would be a proportionate response to the breach. Government guidance stresses the importance of affective enforcement action to maintain public confidence in the planning system but says councils should act proportionately.
6. In this complaint the Council has taken formal action against the landowner by serving an enforcement notice requesting specific action on the site. The landowner has not complied with this notice within the required timeframe. Mr X complains the Council has since failed to take any further enforcement action against the landowner meaning the planning breaches continue.
7. In response to my enquiries, the Council has confirmed it has an ongoing planning enforcement investigation against the landowner. The Council has been updating Mr X where possible. As the Council is actively working on this matter, I cannot find enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant an investigation by us. Issues of this nature can be difficult to resolve and can often take longer than expected. We consider further investigation by us on this point will not lead to a different outcome.
8. Furthermore, as the Council’s enforcement investigation has not concluded, it is not yet possible to say if Mr X has suffered any significant injustice because of any alleged fault with how the Council has dealt with the breaches. Mr X can return to us and make a new separate complaint if he remains unhappy once the Council’s enforcement investigation has ended.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to warrant further investigation. It is also not yet possible to say if Mr X has suffered significant injustice while the Council’s enforcement action is ongoing.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman