Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with the complainant’s planning application. This is because the complainant could have appealed to the Planning Inspector.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, has complained about how the Council dealt with his planning application. He says there were long delays and the Council requested unnecessary information. Mr X says he has been caused stress by the Council’s handling of the matter and suffered financial losses because of the delays.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a government minister. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b))

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

3. The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister. The Planning Inspector considers appeals about:

• delay – usually over eight weeks – by an authority in deciding an application for planning permission
• a decision to refuse planning permission
• conditions placed on planning permission
• a planning enforcement notice.

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered Mr X’s complaint and the Council’s responses. I invited Mr X to comment on a draft of this decision.

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What I found

5. Most planning applications should be determined within eight weeks, although the time limit is 13 weeks for major applications. If the planning application has not been determined by the end of this period, and an extension has not been agreed in writing, the applicant can appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. The applicant can also appeal to the Planning Inspector if they disagree with the council’s decision to refuse planning permission.

What happened

6. The Council granted Mr X planning permission to build a two storey building. The permission was subject to conditions, some of which needed to be complied with before works could commence.
7. In 2020, Mr X submitted an application to discharge the planning conditions. Mr X has complained about how long it took the Council to determine his application. He says the Council requested unnecessary information and failed to keep him up to date.

Assessment

8. I understand Mr X is unhappy with how the Council dealt with his application and says there were long delays. However, it would have been reasonable for Mr X to have used his right of appeal to the Planning Inspector if he was unhappy with how long it was taking the Council to determine the application. The Ombudsman will not normally investigate a complaint when someone has an appeal right.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because Mr X had a right to appeal to a government minister.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman