Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council granting planning permission for works to a building close to the complainant’s home. There is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains about the Council’s consideration of her neighbour’s planning application.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We can 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. So, 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))

3. We can consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered:
• information provided by Mrs X, which included her complaint correspondence with the Council.
• Information about the planning application, on the Council’s website
• the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. I appreciate Mrs X is very unhappy the Council granted planning permission for the development.
6. But the Ombudsman does not provide a right of appeal against that decision, and so we cannot evaluate the planning considerations or offer a view on what planning decision should have been made. Rather, our role is to review any alleged fault in the way the Council reached its decision, and to consider if any errors we find are Iikely to have influenced the planning application outcome or directly caused some other significant injustice.
7. I find there is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council handled the application or reached its decision to justify starting an investigation. In reaching this view, I am particularly mindful that:
• The objections to the proposal are summarised in the delegated report.
• The report goes on to consider the relevant material planning considerations, which form the basis of the associated development plan policies and design guide. The planning officer was entitled to reach her own professional judgement on these matters, even if Mrs X disagrees with them.
• There is no statutory requirement to include informatives or advice notes about party wall or access matters on a planning permission. Should any such issues arise, these would be a private, civil matter between Mrs X and her neighbour.

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Final decision

8. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman