Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (22 005 354)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 02 Aug 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to grant planning permission for an extension. This is because there is no evidence of fault in how the Council reached its decision.
The complaint
- Mrs X complains the Council has granted planning permission for her neighbours extension which will restrict her access to her property. Mrs X says the new extension will also impact on the light to her property.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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))
- We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- There is no evidence of fault in how the Council has reached its decision to grant planning permission for Mrs X’s neighbour’s extension. The Council has considered the plans against local and national planning policies and Mrs X’s objections in its officer report which is attached to its decision notice. Mrs X may disagree with the Council’s conclusions but we cannot question the outcome if there was no fault in the way the decision was reached.
- Mrs X is concerned that the extension will be built up to her boundary. The Council’s decision to grant planning permission does not give Mrs X’s neighbour permission to access her land. Mrs X and her neighbour will need to agree access through Party Wall legislation. This is not something the Council is responsible for.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman