Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with the complainant’s planning application and the pre-application advice it provided. This is because the complaint is late. The complainant also had the right to appeal to the Planning Inspector.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Ms X, has complained about how the Council dealt with her planning application and the pre-application advice it provided. Ms X says the Council’s pre-application planning advice wrongly led her to believe she would easily be able to obtain planning permission. Ms X has also complained about how the Council dealt with her planning application. Ms X says she has suffered significant costs because of the Council’s actions.

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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 late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
4. 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)
5. 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.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. A complaint is late if it has taken someone more than 12 months to complain to the Ombudsman. Ms X requested pre-application planning advice in 2018 and applied for planning permission some time ago. Ms X has therefore been aware of the issues complained about for more than 12 months. I see no good reason to exercise discretion to investigate as Ms X could have complained to the Ombudsman sooner.
9. Ms X also had the right to appeal to the Planning Inspector for non-determination if she was unhappy with how long the Council was taking to assess her planning application. I consider it would have been reasonable for Ms X to have used her right to appeal. The Ombudsman will not usually investigate when someone had a right to appeal to the Planning Inspector, even if the appeal would not have addressed all the issues complained about.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because the complaint is late. Ms X also had the right to appeal to the Planning Inspector.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman