Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council decision to approve a minor material amendment planning application. The complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. The complaint is made too late. Also, there is no evidence of fault in the way the Council considered the complaint.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Mrs X, says the Council claims shared space, shown on an approved planning application, has been removed or superseded by a minor material amendment. Mrs X says this is not the case and without using the entire site, the decrease in parking space results in the overcrowding of cars. This obstructs the right of way to her property.
2. Mrs X also questions whether the complaint should be investigated by the people who considered the application and are the subject of the complaint.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Mrs X, including the Council’s response to her complaint
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is too late. The Council approved the planning application in 2020. Mrs X was aware of the application and I see no reason why she could not have complained within 12 months of the decision.
9. I have seen no fault in the way the Council dealt with her complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman