Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to approve a planning application. This is because her complaint is late and I have found no good reason why she could not have come to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s decision to approve a planning application.
2. She also complains about the Council's decision to allow the developer to make an application to regularise breaches of planning control.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)

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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. Mrs X complains about the Council’s decision to approve a planning application for a new structure to be built. She says the new building blocks access to her roofline and side wall.
7. She also says that the Council mishandled her formal complaint and allowed the developer to make an application to regularise breaches of planning control.
8. Whilst I acknowledge her concerns, we cannot investigate her complaint as it is late. Mrs X received the Council’s final response to her complaint in in February 2024. She did not complain to us until July 2025, over a year after she had received the Council’s final response.
9. I have seen no good reason why Mrs X could not have come to us sooner.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman