London Borough of Wandsworth (21 017 739)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 17 Mar 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with the complainant’s planning application. This is because the complainant has already appealed to the Planning Inspector.
The complaint
- The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Mr X, has complained about how the Council dealt with his retrospective planning application. He says the application was not assessed fairly in line with the Council’s policies and the case officer failed to effectively communicate with him. Mr X also says relevant information was not taken into account and the case officer failed to wear a face mask during the site visit.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a government minister. The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of a government minister. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b), as amended)
- 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.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr X’s concerns about the Council’s decision to refuse his planning application. This is because he has appealed to the Planning Inspector about the Council’s decision and the Ombudsman cannot investigate matters where someone has already used their appeal right.
- I understand Mr X has complained about how his application was dealt with by the Council. But the Council’s handling of the application is related to the planning decision which has been appealed. The Ombudsman cannot investigate when someone has appealed to the Planning Inspector, even if the appeal will not address all the issues complained about.
Final decision
- We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has already appealed to the Planning Inspector.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman