Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to take enforcement action against her neighbour for erecting a fence which is higher than permitted development. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Miss B, complains the Council has not correctly measured the height of her neighbour’s fence and refuses to make her neighbour lower or remove it.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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

3. I considered information provided by Miss B which includes the Council’s responses.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Miss B wants the Council to measure the fence from her neighbour’s property and take enforcement action.
6. The Council says it has inspected the fence. It is satisfied the fence is of moderate height and has a limited impact on light and visual intrusion to Miss B’s home. It also believes it would grant permission if the neighbour put in a planning application.
7. The Council has decided not to take enforcement action.
8. Government guidance does not say that councils should act against all unauthorised development, but a council should act where there is serious harm to local public amenity. The decisive issue for the Council is whether the breach of control would unacceptably affect public amenity or the unauthorised use of land or buildings merit protection in the public interest.
9. In this case the Council decided not to exercise its power of planning enforcement because of the limited harm to Miss B’s property. The Council has visited the site and inspected the fence. There is no requirement for the Council to take specific measurements. We may not question the merits of decisions which have been properly made.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman