Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council granting planning permission for new houses next to his property in 2021 and how it dealt with his complaint. The complaint is late and there are no good reasons for us to investigate it now. We cannot achieve the outcome Mr X wants from his complaint. We do not investigate councils’ complaint-handling where we are not investigating the core issue which gave rise to the complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X lives next to a site which has been the subject of planning applications for a new residential development. The plans setting out the locations of the new properties was the subject of a reserved matters application granted at a Council planning committee in 2021. Mr X complains the Council:
1. failed to apply its own guidance on property separation distances when granting permission;
2. produced a planning officer report for the 2021 committee which misrepresented the facts about his property;
3. did not properly consider consultees’ concerns at the 2021 committee meeting;
4. provided a delayed, misleading, evasive and contradictory response to his complaint
2. Mr X says if the development goes ahead it will have a severe impact on the privacy and amenity of his property. He says his dining kitchen and other ground floor windows will be overlooked by the new property’s habitable rooms from a distance of about 14 metres. He says the location of the new properties would mean both his front and rear gardens would also be overlooked. Mr X says the developer’s planned tree planting would cause loss of light and a risk of foundational damage to his property. He wants the Council to correct its mistakes and change the locations of the new properties and his property, increasing the separation distance by eight metres.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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 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

5. I considered information from Mr X, relevant online planning documents and maps, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The location of the proposed properties was agreed by the ‘reserved matters’ planning permission granted at committee. Mr X’s complaint is about that planning process, including the officer report and the committee’s 2021 decision. He complained to us in November 2023.
7. We expect people to complain to us about something they consider a council has done wrong within 12 months of them becoming aware of it. Mr X would have known about the Council’s planning decision about which he complains since 2021. Mr X has brought his complaint to us almost two and a half years later, so the complaint is late. We have discretion to investigate late complaints where there are good reasons to do so. Mr X’s complaint to us does not mention why he did not complain about the Council’s 2021 planning decision sooner. Mr X could have complained to us sooner and within 12 months. There are no good reasons for us to investigate the complaint now and we will not do so.
8. Mr X wants the Council to change the 2021 permission to increase the separation distances between his property and the nearest new houses. We cannot order councils to change the terms of planning permissions which have been granted, or revoke permissions. That we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X seeks is a further reason why we will not investigate the complaint now.
9. Mr X also complains about the way the Council dealt with his complaint. We do not investigate councils’ internal complaint-handling in isolation where we are not investigating the core issue which gave rise to the complaint. It is not a good use of our resources to do so. That limitation applies here so we will not investigate this part of Mr X’s complaint.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because:
• the complaint is late and there are no good reasons for us to investigate it now; and
• we cannot achieve the outcome he seeks from his complaint; and
• we do not investigate councils’ complaint-handling where we are not investigating the core issue giving rise to the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman