Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the planning conditions the Council placed on the complainant’s planning permission. This is because the complainant had the right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, has complained about a planning condition which restricts his permitted development rights. Mr X says the condition means he must apply for full planning permission to make changes to his property, and he will therefore be put to time and trouble and incur costs as a result.

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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. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (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 considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X applied to the Council for planning permission in 2015. The Council considered the application and granted permission subject to conditions.
7. Following this, Mr X applied to remove two of the planning conditions, including a condition restricting his permitted development rights. The Council again considered the application and granted permission subject to conditions. One of the conditions placed some restrictions on permitted development rights. Mr X says the condition impacts his business and should be removed.
8. Mr X could have appealed to the Planning Inspector if he did not agree with the conditions placed on his planning permission. The Ombudsman will not usually investigate when someone had a right to appeal to the Planning Inspector. I understand Mr X says he only recently discovered the condition, and it is now too late to appeal. However, Mr X would have been issued a decision notice detailing the conditions at the time and therefore he could reasonably have been aware of the conditions that applied to his property when the application was approved.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X ’s complaint because it would have been reasonable for him to use his right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman