Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about a planning decision. This is because the complaint has been made by a parish council. We cannot investigate complaints from public bodies such as parish councils.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Mr B, complains on behalf of a parish council about the Council’s decision to grant planning permission for an outbuilding. Mr B says Council officers did not visit the site and the Council ignored objections put in by the parish council. Mr B also says the Council has provided conflicting information about how it considered the application.

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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. We cannot investigate complaints from public bodies. (Local Government Act 1974, section 27(1)(a), as amended)
4. We investigate 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.

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

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr B.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because Mr B is complaining on behalf of a parish council. We do not have the power to investigate complaints made by public bodies such as parish councils.
8. Also, even if Mr B wanted to complain as a member of the public, we would not investigate.
9. Mr B does not live next to the application site and is not affected by the approved development. So, he has not suffered an injustice because of the alleged fault.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate this complaint because it is from a public body.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman