Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the green belt boundary in the Council’s adopted Local Plan. The Local Plan was approved by the Planning Inspectorate and complaints about its content are therefore outside our jurisdiction.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Mrs X, complains an error caused the green belt boundary on the Local Plan proposals map adopted in 2000 to move. She says this has implications for the road where she lives and wants the error corrected.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. We cannot investigate the actions of bodies such as the Planning Inspectorate. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 25 and 34A, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. The Council confirms the hard copy version of the Proposals Map would have been considered during the previous local plan examination. This is the version the Council adopted many years ago. Therefore, irrespective of how the green belt boundary was achieved, it is the legitimate boundary.
7. The Local Plan was subject to a public inquiry and the content was approved by the Planning Inspector.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because decisions by the Planning Inspectorate are outside our jurisdiction.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman