Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the pre-application planning advice the Council provided to the complainant. This is because we are unlikely to find fault.

The complaint

1. Mr X has complained about the pre-application advice he received from the Council. Mr X says the Council’s advice was inadequate and the case officer failed to properly consider the information he provided.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
3. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr X has complained about the written advice he received from the Council in response to his pre-application advice request. Mr X says the response lacked detail and referred to irrelevant information. Mr X also says parts of the response were copied from the case officer’s report and the Planning Inspector’s appeal response for a previous application at the site. Mr X says the Council should apologise and refund the fee he paid for the advice service.
6. However, I am satisfied the Council’s written response considered the amended proposal against the relevant policies and the officer advised on the acceptability of the development. The officer also explained why they did not consider that the issues with the previous scheme had been addressed. As the Council properly responded to the advice request, I consider it unlikely I would find fault.
7. Mr X has complained about the Council’s complaint handling. However, where the Ombudsman has decided not to investigate the substantive issues complained about, we will not usually use public resources to consider more minor matters such as complaint handling.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman