Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council validated his application without checking to make sure his application was of the correct type. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council. However even if we were to find fault it is unlikely we could say this caused the injustice Mr X claims.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council validated and consulted on his planning application before realising his application was of the wrong type. He says this caused him unnecessary cost, time and trouble.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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, or
• it is unlikely we could add to any previous investigation by the Council, or
• it is unlikely further investigation will lead to a different outcome.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I reviewed Mr X’s complaint and the Council’s response. I shared my draft decision with Mr X and considered his comments.

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What I found

4. The Council granted Mr X planning permission for a new housing development but before implementing the planning permission Mr X decided he wished to add more units. He applied to the Council to vary the planning permission and the Council validated his application and sought comments from nearby residents and statutory consultees.
5. When the Council later reviewed the proposal it decided Mr X had applied for the wrong type of permission. It advised him to withdraw his application to vary the original planning permission and to make a new application for full planning permission. Mr X is unhappy the Council did not pick this up at the validation stage and says he incurred costs and went to time and trouble to provide information needed to validate the application and to address concerns about the proposal.
6. The validation process ensures a planning applicant has provided all the required information for the Council to reach a decision on their application. It is not intended to act as a check to make sure the applicant has submitted the correct type of application for the development they want to carry out. I do not therefore consider it was fault for the Council to validate Mr X’s application to vary the original planning permission even though it is clear it now considers the type of application he used is incorrect.
7. The Council has advised Mr X that he will need to submit a full application if he wishes to proceed and whether he decides to do so is for him to decide. If he disagrees with the Council’s view, and because I have seen nothing to suggest he has withdrawn his application, he may refer the matter to the Planning Inspectorate to consider as an appeal on the grounds of non-determination (delay). A Planning Inspector will then decide if the Council is correct.
8. Mr X says he incurred costs in making his application but this was his choice. I have seen no evidence to show the Council advised him to apply to vary the original planning permission. Mr X chose to instruct professionals to assist him with his responses to comments made by residents and consultees but there was no requirement for him to do this. These responses may also prove useful in any appeal he makes to the Planning Inspectorate and/or in his full planning application but there is, as with any application, no guarantee of success. Mr X therefore incurred any costs associated with the application at risk that the application would be refused.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because there is no evidence of fault by the Council. It is also unlikely we could attribute Mr X’s claimed injustice to the Council’s actions, even if we did find fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman