Tewkesbury Borough Council (23 008 229)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 02 Oct 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the cost to local taxpayers from the Council’s unsuccessful pursuit through the courts of permission for a development. The matter affects all or most of the people living in the Council’s area so by law we cannot investigate.
The complaint
- Mr X complains the Council:
- acted incompetently or negligently in pursuing permission for a construction project which was ultimately blocked by the courts;
- ignored local residents’ objections to the project.
- Mr X says the decision to pursue the permission has not affected him personally but that the matter has cost him and other Council taxpayers about £500,000.
- Mr X wants the Council to make sure it is more diligent when pursuing large scale development projects and never to attempt a scheme such as the one blocked by the courts. Mr X wants the Council to scale back development of the area more generally to make sure residents’ properties are not more prone to flooding or other climate change effects.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We cannot investigate something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information from Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says he has raised his complaint because of the financial impact of the Council’s actions and decisions on all local taxpayers. He recognises the proposed development and the Council’s pursuit of the planning permission do not affect him personally. The matter has not affected Mr X more than any other taxpaying member of the public in the Council’s area.
- We cannot by law investigate the complaint. The majority of local residents as taxpayers will be affected financially by the matter complained of. Section 26(7) (as amended) of the Local Government Act 1974, the law that gives us our powers, prohibits us from investigating something that affects all or most of the people in a council’s area. That limitation applies here so we cannot investigate.
Final decision
- We cannot by law investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is a matter which affects all or most of the people in the Council’s area.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman