Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s consultation process for a new Supplementary Planning Document. This is because the complainant has not suffered significant personal injustice.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, has complained about a document produced by the Council as part of its consultation process for a new Supplementary Planning Document (SPD). Mr X says the document includes incorrect and misleading information.

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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:

• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered Mr X’s complaint and the Council’s responses. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision and have considered his comments in response.

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What I found

4. In April 2020, the Council consulted residents about a proposed SPD. Mr X has complained about a document produced as part of this process and says it contains incorrect and misleading information about the area. Mr X says the Council should start the consultation process again.
5. The Council has considered Mr X’s concerns and says while the document contains a grammatical error, the consultation is detailed and includes the views of all parts of the community.

Assessment

6. I will not investigate this complaint about how the Council consulted residents about a proposed SPD. This is because I cannot say Mr X has suffered any significant personal injustice.
7. The Council is still at the early stages of producing the new SPD and further consultation is due to take place once the draft SPD is completed. I understand Mr X says he may be adversely affected by planning decisions made in the future that are based on the new SPD. However, as the SPD has not yet been adopted by the Council, I cannot say Mr X has suffered any significant injustice at this stage.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because Mr X has not suffered any significant personal injustice as a result of the alleged fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman