Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of her planning application. This is because the injustice she claims results from the Council’s views and decision on the application and if she disagrees with these it would be reasonable for her to appeal. In the event Ms X has appealed, as she suggests she has, this removes our discretion to investigate.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, complains the Council wrongly referred her planning application to its planning committee and failed to follow its complaints procedure. She is unhappy about statements made by the Parish Council in response to consultation on her application and suggests it colluded with other parties to limit her plans.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’ by local authorities and other bodies within our jurisdiction. We call this ‘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)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a government minister. We may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal but cannot investigate if the person has already appealed. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b))
4. The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister. The Planning Inspector considers appeals about:

• Delay – usually over eight weeks – by an authority in deciding an application for planning permission
• A decision to refuse planning permission
• Conditions placed on planning permission
• A planning enforcement notice.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

6. We cannot investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Parish Council’s comments on her planning application. This is because the Parish Council is not a body within our jurisdiction and we cannot therefore investigate its actions or any statements made by it or on its behalf. If Ms X considers any statements made were untrue and have caused her harm she may wish to seek legal advice about a claim for libel.
7. We can investigate complaints about the County Council but the issues Ms X raises concern its handling of her planning application and such complaints fall outside our jurisdiction. This is because Ms X has a right of appeal against any decision to refuse planning permission or any conditions attached to a grant of planning permission. She could also have appealed if she was unhappy with the length of time taken to decide her application, as set out at Paragraph 4.
8. Ms X suggests the Council wrongly referred the matter to its planning committee and sought to limit her proposal, resulting in anxiety and additional costs. But Ms X made her application without any guarantee it would be approved and incurred her costs at risk the Council would refuse her application.
9. If Ms X felt the Council had asked for changes which were unnecessary she could have refused to make them and appealed against any refusal. Any delay in determining the application carried a right of appeal as set out above and we could not hold the Council responsible for consequential losses resulting from delays and any increase in the cost of delivering the proposal in any event.
10. Ms X suggests she has now appealed against the Council’s decision and if this is true it removes our discretion to consider any complaint about the Council’s handling of the application, as this is a related matter. This complaint would therefore be barred from further investigation.
11. Ms X is also unhappy with the way the Council dealt with her 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.

Back to top

Final decision

12. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because we cannot separate the issues Ms X raises from the outcome of her planning application. If Ms X disagreed with the Council’s decision on her application it would have been reasonable for Ms X to appeal. If Ms X has now lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate as she suggests this removes our discretion to investigate.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman