Summary: The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr Q’s complaint about the handling of his planning applications. This is because he has appealed to the Planning Inspector.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I have called Mr Q, complained about Mendip District Council’s handling of his planning applications. He said he was wrongly advised that he had only three minutes to talk about his applications at the Planning Board meeting.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a government minister. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b), as amended)
4. The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister. The Planning Inspector considers appeals about a decision to refuse planning permission.
5. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered the information Mr Q provided. I considered information available of the Council’s website.

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What I found

7. Mr Q made two linked planning applications to extend his home.
8. Mr Q said officers told him he had three minutes to speak at the Planning Board meeting in support of his applications. He therefore prepared a three minute presentation for his representative to deliver. However, he later discovered his representative could have spoken for six minutes.
9. The Council’s Planning Board refused Mr Q’s applications. Mr Q believes an additional three minutes would have helped his case. He has appealed to the Planning Inspector about the Council’s refusal.
10. Mr Q is also unhappy with the Council’s handling of his complaint about the matter.

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Final decision

11. Mr Q has appealed to the Planning Inspector about the Council’s refusal of his planning applications. So, for this reason, we cannot investigate his complaint about the applications and the advice officers gave him.
12. Mr Q is also unhappy with the Council’s handling of his complaint about the matter. We will not investigate this part of Mr Q’s complaint. This is because it would not be a good use of public resources to do so when we cannot investigate the Council’s handling of his planning applications.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman