Elmbridge Borough Council (21 006 350)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council requiring Mr X to pay an affordable housing contribution. This is because he has right of appeal to the Planning Inspector.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council has demanded a significant amount of money from him as an “affordable housing contribution” following his plans to carry out development in its area.
- Mr X says the amount of money being demanded is disproportionate in relation to the size of the development and the Council’s actions have caused him significant frustration and delayed the development.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a government minister. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b))
- The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council obtains affordable housing contributions from developers using section 106 agreements. These are legal agreements between councils and developers and a linked to planning permissions. They can also be known as planning obligations. (Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 106)
- If a developer is unhappy with the obligations set out in a section 106 agreement they may appeal to the Planning Inspector. This includes any requirement or obligation to pay affordable housing contributions. I can see no reason why Mr X cannot appeal if he is unhappy with the Council’s decision. Therefore, we cannot investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has a right of appeal to the Planning Inspector.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman