Hastings Borough Council (22 003 556)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s proposals to develop a building its area. This is because the Council’s planning committee refused planning permission for the development and so Mr X has not been caused an injustice and there are no wider public interest issues for us to consider.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council submitted a planning application for a development without considering access for people with disabilities. Mr X says pursuing this matter has caused him stress.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and information about the development on the Council’s website.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council submitted a planning application for a development in its area. Mr X says the proposals would prevent people with disabilities from accessing the building.
- The Council’s planning committee refused to grant planning permission for the development in part due to a lack of suitable access for people with disabilities. As a result Mr X has not been caused an injustice as a result of the Council’s actions and there are no wider public interest issues for us to consider. Therefore, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because Mr X has not been caused an injustice and there are no wider public interest issues for us to consider.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman