Cornwall Council (19 017 977)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 12 Mar 2020
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to grant planning permission for a new dwelling opposite his home. This is because it is unlikely we would find fault by the Council.
The complaint
- The complainant, Mr X, complains about the Council’s decision to grant planning permission for a new dwelling opposite his home. He says the new dwelling has caused overlooking to his property.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I reviewed the complaint raised on Mr X’s behalf by his daughter Mrs Y. I shared my draft decision with Mrs Y and considered her comments.
What I found
- The Council granted planning permission for a new dwelling on land opposite Mr X’s property in 2018. Mr X objected to the proposal but the Council approved it. Mrs Y says they could not anticipate the impact of the new dwelling on Mr X’s amenity/privacy as they are not planning professionals, but now that the build is underway they can see it will overlook Mr X’s property. They would like the Council to amend the planning permission and require obscure-glazing, or otherwise remove the window.
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. The planning officer’s report shows it considered the impact of the development on Mr X’s privacy when reaching its decision and it is therefore unlikely we would find fault by the Council. The law does not allow us to question the merits of a decision which is not affected by fault and we cannot now alter the planning permission to require obscure-glazing as Mr X would like.
Final decision
- The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is it is unlikely we would find fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman