Buckinghamshire Council (23 003 853)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 10 Jul 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a planning application. This is because the complainant has the right to appeal to the Planning Inspector.
The complaint
- Mr X has complained on behalf of himself and his client, the planning applicant, about how the Council dealt with a planning application. Mr X is unhappy with the Council’s decision to refuse planning permission and says it took too long to determine the application and did not respond to correspondence.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b), as amended)
- 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.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X’s client can appeal to the Planning Inspector if they are unhappy with the Council’s decision to refuse planning permission. They also could have appealed to the Inspector after eight weeks if they were unhappy with how long the Council was taking to determine the application.
- Mr X says the Council failed to properly communicate with him and his client during the application process and refused planning permission without giving them the opportunity to revise the proposal. However, these matters are related to the planning decision which can be appealed, and I consider it would be reasonable for Mr X’s client to use their right to appeal. The Ombudsman will not usually investigate when someone has a right to appeal to the Planning Inspector, even if the appeal would not address all the issues complained about.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint because the planning applicant has the right to appeal to the Planning Inspector.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman