Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to accept a planning application for determination. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council has accepted an application for planning permission which is a resubmission of an application it previously refused. Mr X says the development will affect his property.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

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

3. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

4. I reviewed Mr X’s complaint, the Council’s response and the planning officer’s report. I shared my draft decision with Mr X and considered his comments.

Back to top

What I found

5. A developer has applied for planning permission on several occasions for a site adjacent to Mr X’s property. Mr X objected to the proposals and the Council refused the applications. The developer appealed against the Council’s decision and the Planning Inspectorate refused the appeal.
6. The developer has recently resubmitted their application and the Council agreed to consider it. Mr X believes this was wrong. He thinks the Council should have declined to determine the application under Section 70A Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) as he says it is identical to the previous refused applications.
7. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. The planning officer’s report explains in detail the reasons the Council accepted the application for consideration and it is not for us to question its judgement on this point. While I appreciate Mr X does not agree with the Council I have seen no evidence to suggest it did not properly consider the issue and the law does not allow us to challenge the merits of its decision.

Back to top

Final decision

8. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault by the Council.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman