Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to approve a planning application for public parking near his home. There is insufficient evidence of fault.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s decision to grant planning permission to install parking bays near his home.
2. Mr X said the matter caused him uncertainty and frustration.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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

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

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My assessment

6. We will not investigate this complaint. As part of the planning application the Council considered the impact of the development on neighbouring amenity. It also considered comments made by the public as part of the public consultation process.
7. The Council balanced the various factors but decided to approve the development.
8. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong.
9. In this case, there is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s actions to warrant an investigation, and so we will not investigate this complaint.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman