Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s consideration and approval of a proposal for a new conservation area put forward by a parish council. There is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council considered the proposal. Nor can we achieve the outcome the complainant is seeking.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council failed to question the information provided by the parish council when considering whether to approve a new conservation area.
2. He wants the conservation area boundary to be redrawn to exclude a plot of land.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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
• 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 information provided by Mr X including the Council’s responses to his complaint.
5. I also considered information available on the Council’s website and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. Mr X is the executor of an estate which includes a property which is now within the new conservation area boundary. He says he engaged an expert to comment on the proposal for a new conservation area. The comments explained why the agent believes the boundary should be redrawn to exclude part of the property from the conservation area.
7. The Council’s Cabinet considered the proposal for the conservation area. This included:
• details of the proposal
• comments on the proposal including the letter from Mr X’s agents in full; and
• the parish council’s responses to the comments received
8. The published minutes show Mr X also addressed the meeting.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault in the Council’s consideration of the proposal for the new conservation area. The published minutes show Councillors were aware of his request to exclude part of the estate from the conservation area and his reasons for it before voting to approve the proposal
10. Also, we cannot require the Council to re-draw the conservation area boundary, so we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X is seeking.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman