Shropshire Council (19 016 959)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 27 Feb 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: Mr X complains about the grant of planning permission for a property next to his second home. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council. The matter is also out of time.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about the grant of planning permission for a property next to his second home.
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
- A planning application was made in April 2017 for an extension to a house next to a property owned by Mr X. Mr X objected on the grounds that the neighbour’s hedge was planned to be removed or reduced in size.
- The Planning Officer’s report stated that the applicant provided evidence of ownership of the hedge and the hedgerow was not protected and so there were no reasonable planning grounds to refuse the planning application or impose conditions. Planning permission was granted in July 2017.
- I am satisfied that the Council properly took into account Mr X’s objections. In the absence of procedural fault, it is not for the Ombudsman to question the merits of the Council‘s decision.
- Further, planning permission was granted in July 2017 and I see no reason why a complaint could not have been made within 12 months of the planning permission being granted.
- If Mr X believes he owns the hedge then he has a private right of action against his neighbour. The ownership of the land is a private matter and not affected by the planning permission.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman