Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a planning application. This is because the complainant has not suffered any significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr X has complained about how the Council dealt with a planning application for a development near his home. Mr X says the Council failed to notify him about the application and he therefore lost the opportunity to object to the proposal. Mr X says the development will have a significant impact on his property.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.

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

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. Councils are required to give publicity to planning applications. The publicity required depends on the nature of the development. However, in all cases the application must be published on the Council’s website.
5. In this case, the Council says it erected a site notice, but it accepts it did not write to the affected neighbouring residents in line with its statement of community involvement. However, I do not consider Mr X has suffered any significant injustice because of this error.
6. I am satisfied the Council properly assessed the acceptability of the development before granting planning permission. The case officer’s report addressed the impact on Mr X’s property and decided there would not be an unacceptable impact on privacy or loss of light.
7. I understand Mr X disagrees with the Council’s decision to grant planning permission. But the Council was entitled to use its professional judgment to decide the application was acceptable. As the Council properly considered the acceptability of the development, I consider it likely the decision to grant planning permission would have been the same had Mr X known about the application and objected to the proposal.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has not suffered any significant injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman