Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s consideration of a planning application. The complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. The complainant has not yet suffered sufficient personal injustice to warrant our involvement.

The complaint

1. The complainant, I shall call Mr X, says the Council failed to properly consider a planning application for demolition of two properties and erection of an apartment block in a conservation area. In particular, he says:
• The planning committee decision to approve the application was unsound because the Council mishandled to the procedure for dealing with missing buildings. He says a new application should have been required to cover demolition of missing buildings.
• The Councils personnel policies are inadequate, resulting in an inappropriate person being appointed planning officer.
• The Council’s report format and review procedure does not give reasonable assurance on the soundness of committee decisions.
2. Mr X says this matter has caused him distress. He says he will have to live with a reminder of the Council’s poor practice in the form of an out of scale block of flats in the conservation area where he lives.

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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:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X, including the Council’s responses to his complaint.
5. I also considered planning information on the Council’s website and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council has not yet issued permission for the planning application at the heart of this complaint. It is awaiting completion of a legal agreement.
7. Therefore, I do not consider that Mr X suffered enough personal injustice to warrant our involvement. We do not know if the legal agreement will be reached, and the planning permission issued.
8. Mr X may make a new complaint to the Ombudsman if the Council grants planning permission in the future.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. I acknowledge the time and effort he has spent on the planning process and pursuing his complaint. However, I do not consider he has suffered sufficient personal injustice as the planning permission has not yet been issued.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman