Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about how the Council dealt with a planning application. This is because the complaint is late.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I have called Mr X, complains about the Council’s decision to grant planning permission for a development near his home. Mr X says the Council’s handling of planning matters relating to this site have been flawed since at least 2009. He says the Council has failed to consider the impact on road safety and sightlines of not moving access to the site.

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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 late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, 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 effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have spoken to Mr X and considered the information he has provided in support of his concerns. I have also considered information about the planning history of the development site on the Council’s website.
6. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

7. A complaint is late if it has taken someone more than 12 months to complain to us. The Council granted planning permission for the development in 2018. Mr X knew about this application at the time and objected. I see no good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate as Mr X could have complained to us about the Council’s decision to grant planning permission sooner.
8. Furthermore, even if I were to say Mr X’s complaint was in time, my decision not to investigate would be the same. This is because I am unlikely to find fault by the Council.
9. I am satisfied the Council properly assessed the acceptability of the development, including the impact on Mr X’s property, before granting planning permission. The Planning Officer’s report included consideration of Mr X’s objections and the Council has since explained to Mr X that traffic to the development site is significantly less now than it was when a recycling plant was in operation there previously.
10. Mr X says the Council has not applied its rules consistently in this case. He says he is aware of other development sites in the area where the Council has imposed planning conditions around site access where there has been less impact on road safety. As each planning application is likely to be considered on its own merits, it is not possible to test this theory, nor would it be reasonable to do so given the amount of time that has elapsed since the Council granted planning permission.
11. I understand Mr X strongly disagrees with the Council’s decision to grant planning permission, but the Planning Officer was entitled to use their professional judgement to decide the application was acceptable. We cannot question this decision unless it was tainted by fault. As the Council properly considered the application and objections, it is unlikely I could find fault.
12. Mr X is unhappy the Council has not responded to his recent correspondence complaining about this issue. There is evidence the Council reiterated its position in respect of this development site in an email to Mr X in January 2021. It is not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about the Council’s complaint handling, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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Final decision

13. I have discontinued my investigation because the complaint is late.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman