Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the failure of the Council to review its Local Plan within five years. We do not consider that further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainants, I shall call Mr X and Mr Y, complain the Council has failed to carry out a full review of its local plan within five years as required. They say it has failed to tell relevant parties about the increase in its housing capacity.
2. Mr X and Mr Y say that, because of this, the local authority where they live has unnecessarily agreed to release green belt land for house. They say this will have a devastating impact on rural villages threatened with unnecessary and unneeded housing.

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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 further investigation would not lead to a different outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainants, including the Council’s responses to their concerns.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council’s policy LLP 40 requires the Council to carry out a full review of the Local Plan by mid-2021.
7. The Council accepts this has not happened. It advises this is partly due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a recruitment freeze, lack of planning officers and indication by the Government of changes to planning policy. However, it confirms it has now recruited staff and is making plans to start work on the review.

8. Mr X and Mr Y say the green belt area near their homes is at risk of unnecessary development. This is because the Council did not advise the neighbouring authority of a reduction in the number of homes needed to be accommodated under the duty to co-operate.
9. However, the neighbouring authority’s Local Plan was accepted a sound by the Planning Inspector and has now been adopted.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X and Mr Y’s complaint because further investigation will not lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman