London Borough of Hillingdon (21 004 227)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 09 Aug 2021
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about planning issues in the area near the complainant’s home. It is unlikely we would evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
- Mrs B has raised several issues about planning matters in the area near her home. She is concerned about the impact changes have had on the character of the area.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe it is unlikely we would find fault. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs B which included the Council’s responses to her concerns. I have also seen information on the Council’s website and considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Many of the concerns raised by Mrs B are of a general nature. The Council has explained to her in some detail that it has no control over most of these because they do not relate to development needing planning consent.
- The Council did respond to Mrs B about a particular recent application it received for development near to her home. It had to consider the planning merits of the application and grant planning permission if there were no valid grounds for refusal.
- The Council publicised the application and Mrs B sent her comments on it. A planning officer set out the planning issues in a report which addressed the issues Mrs B had raised. The Council decided there were no valid grounds to refuse the application and so granted planning permission.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint because it is unlikely we would find evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman