Summary: Mrs X complains the Council fails to act against breaches of planning control which she says have damaged the local environment. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint as Mrs X has not suffered any personal injustice because of the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains:
• the Council fails to take action against an organisation which she says has breached planning control; and
• Made errors during the planning process when considering planning applications on the same site.

She says because of this the local environment has been irreparably damaged and protected wildlife put at risk of harm or killed.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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 the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A (6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered the information provided by Mrs X and discussed her complaint with her.

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What I found

4. Mrs X complains the Council failed to take action against a breach of planning control. She also complaints that an organisation had breached planning control by carry out work without planning permission.
5. She also complains about various errors in the way the Council considered planning applications for the same site.
6. The Ombudsman will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures by the service provider.
7. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the complainant is using their enquiry as a way of raising a wider political or community campaign. In these cases, their concerns may be better addressed to their local councillor rather than the Ombudsman.
8. Mrs X has confirmed that she has not suffered any personal injustice as a direct consequence of the Council’s action or lack of action.

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Final decision

9. I will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint as she has confirmed she has not suffered any personal injustice as a direct result of the Council’s action of lack of action.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman