Eastbourne Borough Council (25 029 327)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with the complainant’s application for a lawful development certificate. This is because the complainant had the right to appeal to the Planning Inspector.
The complaint
- Mr X has complained about how the Council dealt with his application for a lawful development certificate. He says the Council took too long to determine the application. Mr X says he had to chase the Council for updates, and he has suffered financial hardship.
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 can appeal to a government minister. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b), as amended)
- The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister. The Planning Inspector considers appeals about:
- Delay – usually over eight weeks – by an authority in deciding an application for planning permission
- A decision to refuse planning permission
- Conditions placed on planning permission
- A planning enforcement notice.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X could have appealed to the Planning Inspector for non-determination after eight weeks if he was unhappy with how long the Council was taking to decide his application.
- I consider it would have been reasonable for Mr X to have used his right to appeal. The Ombudsman will not usually investigate when someone had a right to appeal to the Planning Inspector.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he had the right to appeal to the Planning Inspector.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman