Mid Suffolk District Council (24 010 560)

Statement Not upheld Enforcement 10-Mar-2026

Summary: There was no fault in the way the Council carried out a planning enforcement investigation, and it was entitled to decide not to take any action. We have not investigated any of the previous planning enforcement investigations the Council carried out on the same site, because they fall outside the time period set out in our jurisdiction. We have therefore completed our investigation.

Somerset Council (25 016 393)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Enforcement 10-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s delay in taking enforcement action against a breach of planning control at a site in the area where Mr X lives. We have not seen enough evidence of fault by the Council. Also, we do not consider Mr X has suffered significant personal injustice because of the Council’s decision to accept a planning application for the site, the actions of a Council contractor or failures in the Council’s complaint handling. Finally, we consider it reasonable to expect Mr X to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Officer if he believes the Council is withholding information.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (25 009 126)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Enforcement 06-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Mr & Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to make their neighbour install obscure glazing to the front of his property. Planning permission for the glazing was granted by the Planning Inspector. The law says we cannot investigate actions of the Planning Inspector. They also complain the Council refuses to act against their neighbours’ intrusive lighting. We have not seen enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to warrant an investigation.

Amber Valley Borough Council (25 007 747)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Enforcement 05-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about lack of planning enforcement action by the Council because any injustice is not significant enough to justify an investigation.

Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (24 017 182)

Statement Upheld Enforcement 05-Mar-2026

Summary: X complained about the Council’s handling of their reports of breaches of planning control on land near their home. X said the breaches adversely impacted their home and the Council’s lack of action caused distress. We found avoidable delay in the Council’s enforcement investigations which had caused X distress. The Council agreed to apologise to X and complete its enforcement investigations.

Birmingham City Council (25 016 527)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Enforcement 05-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a possible breach of planning control because any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

Reigate & Banstead Borough Council (25 017 087)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Enforcement 05-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to issue an Enforcement Notice. Ms X has already appealed to the Planning Inspector and the law says we cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a government minister. Ms X also complains the Council failed to correctly respond to a subject access request. We consider it reasonable for Ms X to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office which deals with such matters.

Liverpool City Council (25 005 087)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Enforcement 03-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council dealt with reports of breaches of planning control as we have not seen enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions. The law states we cannot consider any matters relating to planning applications which have been appealed to the Planning Inspector. Further investigations into the Council’s response to Ms X’s complaint is unlikely to lead to a different outcome. Finally, we do not consider it a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about the complaints procedure alone if we are not considering the substantive issue.

Mid Devon District Council (25 014 535)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Enforcement 03-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council decision not to enforce against a developer for not installing a wider footway near his property, and how officers dealt with his complaint. There is insufficient significant injustice to Mr X or others to warrant us investigating. We do not investigate council complaint handling where we are not investigating the core matter giving rise to the complaint.

Cornwall Council (25 014 711)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Enforcement 03-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about planning enforcement. This is because part of the complaint is late. We are unlikely to find fault in relation to the remaining issues complained about. It is also not yet possible to say if Mrs Y has suffered significant injustice because of any fault with the Council’s ongoing enforcement investigations.