Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s consideration of a planning report for a planning decision. The complaint is made on behalf of a parish council and we have no jurisdiction to investigate complaints made by public authorities.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained on behalf of the parish council of which she is a member, that the Council failed to properly consider a response from the highway authority which was a consultee for a planning application which was approved. She says the view of the parish council were not properly considered and information was not correctly presented to the planning committee in the case officer’s report.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate complaints from public bodies. This includes parish and town councils (Local Government Act 1974, section 27(1)(a), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X complained about the report for a planning decision which she says includes submissions by the highway authority which were negative but not clearly presented as such by the case officer’s report to the committee. She says this means that the parish council’s contribution to the process was not given proper consideration and that the decision was flawed.
6. The Council disagrees that the planning committee misunderstood the submissions and says the members were free to disagree with the officer’s recommendation if they chose to.
7. We investigate complaints by members of the public who have suffered personal injustice as a result of fault by a council. We cannot accept complaints from parish or town councils or members representing them because the law does not allow us to accept a complaint made by an “authority constituted for the purposes of the public service”.

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Final decision

8. We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s consideration of a planning report for a planning decision. The complaint is made on behalf of a parish council and we have no jurisdiction to investigate complaints made by public authorities.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman