Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s determination of a planning application. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. There is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council reached its decision on the application.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I refer to as Mr X, says the Council failed to properly consider the impact on his amenity when determining his neighbour’s planning application.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Ombudsman can investigate 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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
3. We cannot question whether a council’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. If there is evidence of fault in the process, we consider whether this is likely to have affected the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council, which included their complaint correspondence and confirmation of who made the decision on the application.
5. I also considered our Assessment Code, and information about the planning application on the Council’s website.

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My assessment

6. I appreciate Mr X disagrees with the Council’s decision on his neighbour’s planning application. But the Ombudsman does not provide a right of appeal against that decision. Rather, we review the process by which a planning decision is made.
7. Here, the delegated report on the proposal shows the Council has had regard to Mr X’s objections and it explains why the development is considered to be acceptable. As such, I find there is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council reached its decision to justify the Ombudsman starting an investigation.

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Final decision

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

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman