Eastbourne Borough Council (19 012 971)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Mar 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mr X complains about the way the Council considered a planning application for a neighbour’s extension and the impact upon his property. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about the way the Council considered a planning application for a neighbour’s extension and the impact upon his property.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I have considered the comments of the complainant and the Council and the complainant has had an opportunity to comment on the draft decision.,
What I found
- Mr X owns a second property which is next door to a property subject of a planning application for a two storey rear extension. Mr X objected to the planning application.
- The Planning Officer noted the impact on the building containing Mr X’s flat. The Planning Officer noted the distance of the flat from the development site and the northerly position of the building in relation to Mr X’s flat. The Planning Officer considered that this was acceptable on planning terms. However, the Planning Officer considered that the two proposed windows would be unacceptable as they would cause an unacceptable loss of privacy. The applicant altered the planning application to propose that the windows be obscure glazed and unopenable. The Planning Officer considered this acceptable.
- I am satisfied that the Planning Officer properly considered the planning application in relation to Mr X’s property. In the absence of procedural fault, it is not for the Ombudsman to question the merits of the Council‘s decision.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman