Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about a conflict of interest in the Council’s consideration of the complainant’s planning application and their reports of breaches of planning control. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Mrs J, says a Planning Officer had a conflict of interest. She says the same Officer was involved in two previous complaints made by Mrs J just before investigating her report of a breach of planning control by her neighbour.
2. Mrs J wants:
• an independent review of her neighbour’s raised garden level.
• Building Control to assess whether the neighbour’s sewerage plant is working effectively; and
• an apology for the Council implying they are a family with a history of complaining.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mrs J and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. In its response to Mrs J, the Council said the Officer concerned had the necessary experience and knowledge of the site to deal with the planning applications and investigate the report of the breach of planning control. The Manager who investigated Mrs J’s complaint is also the senior specialist for planning enforcement. She agrees with the original Officer’s view that the neighbour’s installation of sewerage plant does not require planning permission. Therefore, no breach of planning control exists.
7. I have considered the correspondence provided by Mrs J which she says supports her concerns that the Planning Officer ‘had a good relationship’ with her neighbour. However, I have seen no evidence of bias against Mrs J in these documents.
8. I understand Mrs J wants an investigation into her neighbour’s sewerage plant and raising of land level in their garden. However, the Ombudsman has considered complaints about the Council’s actions on the sewerage plant in 2020 and decided it was too late and it is unlikely we could achieve the outcome Mrs J was seeking. More than a year has passed since this decision, and I have seen no reason to consider the same matter again.

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Final decision

9. I will not investigate this complaint. It does not meet the tests set out in our Assessment Code as it is unlikely we will find fault in the Council’s actions and part of the complaint has previously considered as made too late.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman