Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council handled his neighbour’s planning application. This is because Mr X has not been caused a significant injustice to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has granted planning permission for a dormer bungalow next to his home without properly measuring the plans. Mr X says the development will encroach onto his land and the Council allowed the developer to change approved plans for dormer windows.
2. Mr X says the Council’s actions have caused him significant distress and caused him to fall out with his neighbours.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

The Ombudsman investigates complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and information about the planning application which is available to the public on the Council’s website.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
5. The complainant had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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My assessment

6. The new development is a replacement of an existing one. However, it is larger in size and has living accommodation in the roof space which the previous bungalow did not. The increase in size is not at a level that would cause an injustice to Mr X given the relationship between the two properties. The Council has also addressed issues of overlooking of Mr X’s garden by restricting views from dormer windows which face onto his garden. Therefore, any impact would be minimal.
7. Land ownership disputes are private matters and not something the Council can address through the planning process.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because Mr X has not been caused an injustice significant enough to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman