Herefordshire Council (21 003 830)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate how the Council dealt with the complainant’s concerns about development near her home. The complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. There is nothing to suggest fault by the Council.
The complaint
- Mrs Y complained because she believes the Council did not consult her about an application for development near her home. She also says the Council has not dealt with breaches of planning permission. Mrs Y believes the Council should withdraw planning permission and remove the development.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
- We do not provide a right of appeal against a decision by a council. 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 that is likely to have affected the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the Mrs Y which included the Council’s response to her concerns. I have also seen information on the Council’s website
- I considered our Assessment Code.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs Y’s complaint because we are unlikely to find evident of fault by the Council. The application considered by the Council was not for planning permission but a request for confirmation the proposed development was permitted under the General Permitted Development Order. There was no need for the Council to consult anyone about this. The Council has not acted on Issues reported by Mrs Y because either the use is permitted development or so minor enforcement action would be unreasonable.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman