Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision not to take enforcement action against development on a caravan site next to the complainant’s property. The complaint is late and there is no reason why the complainant could not have come to us much sooner. We will not investigate the complaint about the Council’s decision to approve a retrospective planning application on the site. We have not seen evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council refuses to take enforcement action against development on a caravan site close to his property.
2. He also complains about the Council’s decision to grant retrospective planning permission for decking on the site.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done.

(Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

5. We investigate 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 continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Mr X complains about a lack of enforcement action against development on a caravan site next to his property.
9. The responses from the Council show Mr X first raised his concerns in 2021. The Council’s final response from December 2021 refers Mr X to his right to ask the Ombudsman to consider his complaint.
10. The law says a complaint must be made to the Ombudsman within 12 months of the person becoming aware of the problem. Mr X did not come to us until 2024. His complaint is therefore late. The Council provided our contact details in 2021 so there is no reason why Mr X could not have approached us much sooner. Therefore, we will not consider the concerns about the development of café/food facilities on the site.
11. The Council approved the application for retrospective planning permission in January 2024. Mr X’s concerns about this issue remain within our jurisdiction.
12. Planning controls the design, location and appearance of development and its impact on public amenity. Planning controls are not designed to protect private rights or interests. The Council may grant planning permission with conditions to control the use or development of land.
13. Local Planning Authorities must consider each application it receives on its own merits and decide it in line with their local planning policies unless material considerations suggest otherwise. Material considerations concern the use and development of land in the public interest and include issues such as overlooking, traffic generation and noise. People’s comments on planning and land use issues linked to development proposals will be material considerations. Councils must take such comments into account but do not have to agree with those comments.
14. A planning officer visited the site and wrote a report on the proposal for the decking areas. The report includes a summary of all the objections to the application, including those from Mr X. It did not receive any objections from:
• Natural England
• Environment Agency
• The Officer for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty; and
• Local parish councils
15. The report details the relevant local and national policies and explains the reasons for the Officer’s recommendation to approve the application.
16. Having considered the information, the Council agreed with the planning officer and granted planning permission.
17. I understand Mr X disagrees with the Council’s decision; however, we have not seen any evidence of fault in the way the Council decided to approve the planning application.

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Final decision

18. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about issues raised in 2021 which are late, and we have seen no reason for Mr X to not have complained much sooner.
19. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to approve the retrospective planning application for the decking. We have not seen evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman