Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with planning applications for a site near the complainant’s home. This is because it is unlikely we could add to the Council’s response or achieve the outcome the complainant wants.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mrs X, has complained about how the Council dealt with planning applications for a site near her home. Mrs X says the applications incorrectly refer to her address as the development site. She says she has raised the issue with the Council on many occasions, but it has ignored her requests to amend the applications. Mrs X says she has been put to time and trouble trying to deal with the issue and has been contacted by planning enforcement officers in error about possible planning breaches due to the incorrect use of her address.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the council, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. The Council has now apologised to Mrs X for not dealing with the matter sooner and confirmed it will remove the incorrect references to her address from the planning applications. This seems like a suitable remedy in the circumstances, and it is unlikely an investigation by the Ombudsman would add to this response or achieve anything more for Mrs X.
6. Mrs X says the planning permissions should be revoked due to the errors. But this is not an outcome the Ombudsman can achieve as we cannot order a council to revoke planning permission.
7. Furthermore, I consider it unlikely the incorrect address details affected the Council’s assessment of the applications or the planning decisions. The decision notices do not refer to the wrong address and the actual location of the development site is clear from the location plans.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is unlikely we could add to the Council’s response or achieve the outcome the complainant wants.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman