Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of a retrospective planning application which included the creation of an off-street parking space. There is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council wrongly approved a retrospective planning application for an insufficiently sized parking space.
2. She says that as a result, her driveway is sometimes blocked so she cannot manoeuvre her vehicle off the driveway.

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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 there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Planning controls the design, location and appearance of development and its impact on public amenity. Planning controls are not designed to protect private rights or interests.
7. Planning applications are usually made before development begins. However, sometimes applications are submitted afterwards, and these are known as ‘retrospective’ planning applications.
8. A property on Mrs X’s street applied for retrospective planning permission to create an off-street parking space, where currently the property had none.
9. The Council publicised the application. It received objections about the size of the parking space which the objector considered was too small to meet the relevant planning policy.
10. The planning officer’s report on the application considered:
• the objections;
• the speed and traffic on the road; and
• the size of the parking space with reference to the Council’s Parking Standards policy.
11. The officer concluded that although the parking space would be below the minimum standards in the Parking Standards policy, it was big enough to accommodate most vehicles and would create additional off-street parking which would improve the overall current situation.
12. Although Mrs X disagrees with the Council’s decision, we will not investigate this complaint. That is because there is insufficient evidence of fault in how the Council considered the planning application to justify our involvement. It has considered it in line with relevant policies and considered the objections it received.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman