Summary: We cannot investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her planning application. This is because Mrs X has used her right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, complains about the Council’s handling of her planning application. Her application has now been refused.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a government minister. We may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal but cannot investigate if the person has already appealed. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b))
4. 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

5. I reviewed Mrs X’s complaint, the Council’s response and the planning application details.

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What I found

6. Mrs X applied for planning permission from the Council in 2019. The Council did not decide the application within the eight-week timescale set out in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) so Mrs X appealed to the Planning Inspectorate on the grounds of non-determination (delay).
7. A Planning Inspector refused Mrs X’s application but Mrs X is not happy with this decision. She says other people in the area have been allowed to carry out the development she applied for and she believes the approach to her application is not consistent with previous decisions.
8. But Mrs X’s injustice stems from the Planning Inspector’s decision to refuse her application rather than from the Council’s actions. And while Mrs X has complained about the Council’s handling of her application this is not something we can investigate because she has appealed to the Planning Inspectorate.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Mrs X has used her right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman