Summary: We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her planning applications. This is because Miss B has either used her right of appeal to the planning inspector or it is reasonable for her to do so.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I will refer to as Miss B, complains about the Council’s handling of her planning applications. Miss B says in 2020 the Council wrongly refused a planning application she put in, which meant she had to appeal to the planning inspector to get planning permission. Miss B also says the Council has still not decided her planning application made in May this year. Miss B says the Council has told her it is likely to refuse again without giving a proper explanation. Miss B also says the Council has ignored a request from her local councillor for the application to be decided by the Council’s planning committee. Miss B says the Council has caused her a lot of stress and anxiety, in addition to her planning costs.

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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 Act 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. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has already appealed to a government minister.
5. 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

6. I considered information provided by Miss B and planning records available online.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
8. Miss B had the opportunity to comment on a draft version of this statement.

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My assessment

9. We cannot investigate Miss B’s complaint about the Council’s refusal of her first planning application. This is because Miss B used her right of appeal to the planning inspector. This means we have no discretion to investigate the Council’s handling of this application.
10. We will not investigate Miss B’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her recent planning application which has not been decided by the Council yet. This is because Miss B has a right of appeal to the planning inspector against the Council’s delay deciding the application. I find it is reasonable for Miss B to use this right of appeal. Miss B says she does not trust the Council to decide her application fairly. The planning inspector is independent and has the power to grant planning permission. Also, Miss B may put in a claim for her appeal costs to the planning inspector.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because we cannot investigate Miss B’s complaint about the Council’s decision on her first planning application. Also, it is reasonable for Miss B to appeal to the planning inspector against the Council’s delay deciding her second application.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman