Summary: Mrs X complains about the quality of the pre-planning application advice given to her by the Council. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint as we are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s action. And Mrs X had a right of appeal to the Planning Inspector.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the quality of advice given to her by the Council. She says the officer told her to put in a full plans application because the Council would not resist it. If she had known about the alternative of an outline application, she would have saved about £7000.
2. Mrs X would like compensation for what she considers was unnecessary financial expense.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a government minister. The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of a government minister. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b), as amended).
5. The Planning Inspector considers appeals about decisions to refuse planning permission.
6. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

7. Mrs X paid the Council for pre-planning application advice. In March she was advised she could put in a full plans application which would not be resisted.
8. In October she put in the application. The Council refused planning permission in December.
9. Mrs X says she should have been advised of the option of applying for an outline planning application which would have saved her about £7000.
10. The Council’s website states that pre-planning application advice is an informal opinion only, given without prejudice. Officers cannot always foresee every issue that may arise during the planning application process. It also confirms the final decision is made by the planning committee or by officers under delegated authority.
11. In response to Mrs X’s complaint, the Council reminded her that its pre-application advice is valid for 6 months only. Mrs X received the advice in March but did not put in her application until October. It confirms the advice given was correct in March 2019. However, in the intervening 6 months there were changes to the policy background as its housing land supply was restored. There was also a planning appeal decision on a nearby site, both of which materially affected the consideration of her application.
12. Mrs X says she was not told the advice was only valid for 6 months. However, this does not affect my view on this complaint. Pre application advice is advice only which is non-binding on the Council. It is not an instruction by the Council for an application to make a specific type of application.
13. Having considered the above I consider it unlikely that further investigation will lead us to find fault in the Councils actions.
14. Mrs X is also aware that she had a right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate against the Council’s refusal of her application. The Planning Inspector is an impartial expert whose decisions are binding on a council.

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Final decision

15. I will not investigate this complaint. We are unlikely to find fault in the Council’s actions regarding its provision of pre- planning application advice to Mrs X. And she had a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman