Teignbridge District Council (23 012 617)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 22 Jan 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s grant of planning permission as there is insufficient injustice caused to the complainant to warrant investigation.
The complaint
- Mr X complains that the Council did not properly consider environmental issues relating to a planning application for a building and car park.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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 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))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says that the Council failed to properly consider flooding issues when a planning application was made in September 2022. The planning application was for demolition of a property and the construction of a new building and car park.
- Mr X lives some distance away from the site in question. I am not persuaded that any significant injustice is caused to him by the Council’s decision to grant planning permission.
- Our role is to consider complaints where the person bringing the complaint has suffered significant personal injustice as a direct result of the actions or inactions of the organisation. This means we will normally only investigate a complaint where the complainant has suffered serious loss, harm, or distress as a direct result of faults or failures. We will not normally investigate a complaint where the alleged loss or injustice is not a serious or significant matter.
- In the absence of such injustice the Ombudsman would not investigate this complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman