Summary: Mr X complains that the Council granted planning permission for a neighbour’s extension too close to his house. We will not investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council granted planning permission for a neighbour’s extension too close to his house.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

3. I have considered the comments of the complainant and the Council and the complainant was given an opportunity to comment on the draft decision.

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What I found

4. The Council granted planning permission in August 2020 for Mr X’s neighbour to build a single storey side extension.
5. Mr X says that the extension will be within one metre of the side of his house which will make maintenance difficult. He points to the Council’s policy which states that they would normally require a one-metre gap between an extension and the common boundary. But the Council says that this is only where the houses form a ‘uniform row’ with the aim of preventing a ‘terracing effect’.
6. The Council says that the plans submitted, along with analysis of the site by the Planning Officer and photographs made available by Mr X demonstrated that the dwellings on that road have no such uniformity. The Council considered therefore that the “one metre distance” policy did not apply in this case and could not be used to justify refusal of the planning application.
7. The Council says that any maintenance of property is a private matter and not a planning consideration.
8. I am satisfied that there is no evidence of fault by the Council in the way they considered the planning application. The Council considered their own policies and it was a professional judgement as to whether that policy precluded planning permission in this case. Mr X's dissatisfaction lies with the merits of the Council's decision but, in the absence of fault, the Ombudsman cannot criticise the Council's decision.

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Final decision

9. I do not intend to investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.
    

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman