Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of planning applications for a site since 2017. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner. We will not investigate a complaint about the latest planning reserved matters application because this has not yet been determined.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about the Council’s consideration of a planning application in 2017 and 2018. She said that the site had been misidentified and that objections had not been given sufficient consideration. She complained to us in 2019 and to the Council again in 2020. She also complained about the Council’s consideration of the reserved matters application which is ongoing and works carried out by the developer in late 2022.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
3. We 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 or continue an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

6. Mrs X complained about the consideration of plans for a large leisure development in her area. She says planning meetings held in 2017 and 2018 did not properly consider the objections raised by local residents and that the site was misidentified in the 2017 meeting. She submitted a complaint to us in 2019. The plans had not been fully decided at that time and we were unable to investigate.
7. In 2020 Mrs X made complaints to the Council about the plans which had been validated for the full application. The Council did not uphold her complaints and she did not submit a new complaint to us. The time for receiving complaints is 12 months from when a complainant first became aware of the matter causing injustice. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.
8. Mrs X complained about a remaining application for the site which was a reserved matters application adding additional development to the original application. This was submitted to the Council in December 2022 and has not yet been determined. Mrs X says works began on site in late 2022 and that this is a breach of planning regulations. The Council says some works may be started in keeping with the original approved plans. Any unauthorised development will be dealt with by the enforcement process depending on the determination of the outstanding application.
9. We cannot investigate complaints about planning applications which have not yet been decided because the outcome may affect any claim of injustice made by the complainant.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman