• The complaint
• The Ombudsman’s role and powers
• How I considered this complaint
• What I found
• Final decision

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Mr X complains about the way the Council has handled a number of planning applications in his local area. The Ombudsman has stopped the investigation into these complaints. This is because the proposed developments have no direct impact on Mr X and in some cases decisions were taken too long ago for us to investigate now.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about a number of planning decisions the Council has made in his local area. Mr X says the Council has failed to consider the impact of these developments on the local area and local residents.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. 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, or
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• the injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

4. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
5. We can decide whether to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have spoken to Mr X about his complaint and considered the information he has provided to the Ombudsman. I have also considered information available to the public on the Council’s website about the planning decisions Mr X is complaining about.
7. I have written to Mr X and the Council with my draft decision and given them an opportunity to comment.

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What I found

8. Mr X is concerned about the amount of development taking place in his local area. He says this this is having an impact on local highways, especially due to the volume of construction vehicles using local roads.
9. Council’s must consider each planning application based on its own circumstances. This means considering local and national planning policies as well as the impact of any development on local infrastructure and surrounding properties.
10. Therefore, I have registered a complaint for each site Mr X complains about. I will deal with a number of his complaints together within this document for ease of reference.

19019607

11. Mr X complains the Council allowed a local lane to be incorporated into a housing development. The planning reference number Mr X has provided me with is not valid. However, I have looked at records relating to the development and planning permission dates back to the 1980s and 1990s.
12. I cannot continue to investigate this complaint. Even if Mr X has only become aware of this issue recently, I am unable to carry out a fair investigation into a decision taken so long ago.
13. This is because records of the decision may not exist, officers involved are unlikely to be available or able to recollect what happened at the time and planning policies and legislation have changed in the intervening period.

19019609

14. Mr X says a complaint was made to the Council about the dangerous condition of a roof of a local building. Mr X says the Council did not respond to complaints which were raised in 2016.
15. I cannot continue to investigate this complaint. The building in question has since undergone renovation work. Therefore, there is no injustice to Mr X that would justify an investigation by the Ombudsman.

19019610

16. Mr X complains the Council has granted planning permission for the renovation of a local business premises. Mr X says the renovation works caused significant impact on local highways and the ongoing use of the premises will have an impact on parking and drainage. He says the area is unable to cope with increased surface water runoff.
17. A number of planning applications were submitted in relation to the business premises and then approved by the Council. The last planning permission was granted in 2017 and the business reopened in September 2018.
18. Mr X complained to the Ombudsman about planning issues in his local area in 2016. We advised Mr X to complain to the Council in the first instance. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaints in February 2017.
19. However, Mr X did not raise a further complaint until October 2019. This is two years after the last planning permission was granted on this site. I cannot see why Mr X could not have complained sooner if he was unhappy with the Council’s decisions regarding the business premises. Therefore, I cannot continue to investigate this complaint.

19019672

20. Mr X complains the Council has granted planning permission for renovation of two properties in the local area. He says that work to these properties has stopped and presence of scaffolding is causing an obstruction.
21. Mr X does not live next to either property. Therefore, the Council’s decision to grant planning permission for the renovation works as well as the ongoing construction work and presence of scaffolding does not result in an injustice to Mr X that would justify an investigation by the Ombudsman.

19019614

22. Mr X complains the Council has granted planning permission for staff car park associated with a local business on land which is publicly owned.
23. Mr X does not live near the site of the car park so its use would have no direct impact on him that would justify any continued investigation by the Ombudsman.
24. I have considered the wider public interest issues raised by Mr X in relation to the ownership of the land in question.
25. The Council considered this matter when it granted planning permission. Its officer report said:

“Representations made to the application raise concerns in relation to land ownership and legal covenants that relate to the site. These are not matters that are material to the determination of the application and have not therefore been considered in the assessment of the proposal. The only exception to this is that the application must be accompanied by an ownership certificate, which has been completed by the applicant’s agent and confirms that the applicant is the sole owner of the site. Any other issues relating to land ownership or covenants on the site are a legal matter. This assessment or any forthcoming planning determination does not intend to provide a view in respect of these legal matters.”

26. The Council is correct to identify that it cannot refuse planning permission because of a land ownership dispute. It is open to local people who may have rights to the land to take their own action should they wish to contest the ownership of the site. Therefore, I cannot justify continuing with an investigation into this complaint.

19012615

27. Mr X complains the Council has granted planning permission for renovation of a local business which will include short term holiday lets. He says the Council failed to consider the impact on the area as well as local listed buildings.
28. Mr X does not live near enough to the site in question that would result in any direct impact on him. Therefore I cannot justify any continued investigation by the Ombudsman.
29. I have considered the wider public interest issues raised by Mr X in relation to the impact of the development on local listed buildings.
30. The Council’s case officer report considers the impact on local listed buildings and concludes that the proposed plans enhance the appearance of the existing building in relation to surrounding area. As the Council has considered this point I cannot justify any continued investigation by the Ombudsman.

19019673

31. Mr X complains the Council has granted planning permission for the expansion of a nearby farm. He is concerned the farms operations have been expanded to serve local businesses.
32. The expansion of the farm has no direct impact on Mr X. He does not live near the farm. Therefore, I cannot justify continuing an investigation into this complaint.

19019674

33. Mr X complains the Council has granted planning permission for housing on public land. Mr X says the land is to be retained for the benefit of local people.
34. The Council has not reached a decision on the planning application in this case. Therefore, I cannot reach any view on whether or not there has been fault and so I cannot justify continuing an investigation into this complaint.
35. Mr X does not live near the proposed development and so there would be no direct impact on him that would result in an injustice. As with the application for the car park, land ownership is not a relevant planning consideration for the Council. If local residents believe they have rights of the land they should seek advice on how to exert those rights.

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Final decision

36. I have stopped my investigation into these complaints. This is because events happened too long ago for me to investigate or because Mr X has not been caused an injustice that warrants investigation by the Ombudsman.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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