London Borough of Hillingdon (20 008 758)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision not to take formal planning enforcement action against his neighbour. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault by the Council.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council has failed to take action against his neighbour for breaching planning control. He says his neighbour’s development is unsightly and out of keeping with the character and appearance of the area.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I reviewed Mr X’s complaint and the Council’s response. I shared my draft decision with Mr X and considered his comments.
What I found
- Mr X’s neighbour, Mr Y, applied to the Council for planning permission to extend his property in 2019. The Council granted planning permission but Mr X says the plans did not show one aspect of the development which he finds unsightly and considers is out of keeping with the character and appearance of the area. He reported this to the Council but says the Council allowed work to continue.
- The Council confirms it is aware of the issue Mr X has raised and carried out an inspection to assess its impact. It explained to Mr X that a planning enforcement officer took photos of the extension and discussed these with another officer but decided it would not be expedient to take formal enforcement action. This was because the alleged breach did not cause clear and demonstrable planning harm.
- Mr X disagrees with the Council’s decision but I have seen no evidence of fault in the way it was reached; we cannot therefore question it. The Council has considered the impact of the alleged breach and its decision not to take formal action is one it is entitled to make.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman