Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to grant planning permission for a development next to Mr X’s home. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council reached its decision.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council granted planning permission for a development next to his home without properly considering its planning policies. Mr X says that a Councillor in the Council’s Planning Committee also acted in an unacceptable way which influenced the Committee’s decision.
2. Mr X says the Council’s actions means his privacy is now affected and has caused him distress.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
4. We cannot question whether an organisation’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and information about the planning application on the Council’s website.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. There is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council reached its decision to grant planning permission. The Council’s Planning Committee considered an officer report which sets out the Council’s reasons for granting planning permission. The report considers the impact of the development on Mr X’s home as well as the wider area. The report also considers the Council’s planning policies. Mr X may disagree with the Council’s reasons for granting planning permission but we will not investigate a complaint unless there is evidence that suggests the decision was affected by fault.
8. We cannot take account of the actions of an individual member of a Planning Committee. This is because the courts have recognised that council planning committees reach a collective decision on planning applications and what a member says during a debate cannot be take as a reason or reasons for a decision. (R v Bromley Borough Council and another (2009) EWCA Civ 734)
9. Mr X says there was significant local opposition to the development. The volume of objections of a planning application is not something the Council can take into account. The Council must consider the content of any objections and any relevant planning considerations raised. The Council’s officer report covers the relevant issues for this development and so there is no evidence of fault.
10. Mr X has also questioned whether members of the Planning Committee are motivated by personal relationships and money from developers. Mr X has not provided any evidence to support these allegations and so we will not investigate this complaint. This is because the allegations are speculative.

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Final decision

11. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman