Dorset Council (25 019 287)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council issuing a liability notice to Mr X for the Community Infrastructure Levy. There is a right of appeal against the Council’s calculation it would be or have been reasonable to use.
The complaint
- Mr X said the Council wrongly issued a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) liability notice for a development. He says it should honour pre-planning advice he received.`
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended).
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- There is a right of appeal under Regulation 114 of the CIL Regulations 2010 to the Valuation Office for Agency (VOA) against the calculation of the CIL by a planning authority. The Council advised him of this right. It would be or have been reasonable for Mr X to use it.
- Even if there were no appeal right, pre-planning advice is not binding, and the advice Mr X received was from a predecessor authority in 2018.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has or had a right of appeal against the Council’s calculation of the CIL it would be or have been reasonable to use.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman