Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his neighbour’s planning application. This is because the impact of the development is not enough to cause Mr X significant injustice and it is unlikely we could say the Council should have refused the application or sought the changes Mr X would have liked.

The complaint

• The complainant, Mr X, complains about the Council’s handling of his neighbour’s planning application and his complaint. He says the development significantly impacts his amenities, in particular his privacy.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

1. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

2. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code. I also considered the planning application documents including the approved plans and the planning officer’s report.

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My assessment

3. We do not investigate all the complaints we receive. In deciding whether to investigate we need to consider various tests. These include the alleged injustice to the person complaining. We only investigate the most serious complaints.
4. While it is clear Mr X has suffered some impact from his neighbour’s development this is not enough to amount to a significant injustice and does not further investigation. It is also unlikely we could say the decision would or should have been different.
5. Mr X is also unhappy with the way the Council dealt with his complaint. But it is not a good use of public resources to look at the Council’s complaints handling if we are not going to look at the substantive issue complained about. We will not therefore investigate this issue separately.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the impact of the development which forms the basis of Mr X’s complaint is not significant enough to warrant investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman