South Kesteven District Council (24 013 535)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 12 Dec 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a planning application. This is because the complainant had the right to appeal to the Planning Inspector.
The complaint
- Mr X has complained about how the Council dealt with his planning application. Mr X says the case officer was unprofessional and mishandled the application. He also says the correct processes were not followed and there were delays. Mr X says he has been caused stress and incurred additional costs because of the Council’s actions.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a government minister. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b), as amended)
- The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister. The Planning Inspector considers appeals about:
- Delay – usually over eight weeks – by an authority in deciding an application for planning permission
- A decision to refuse planning permission
- Conditions placed on planning permission
- A planning enforcement notice.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X has raised many concerns about how the Council dealt with the application and the case officer’s recommendation to refuse planning permission. However, Mr X could have appealed to the Planning Inspector after eight weeks if he was unhappy with how long it was taking the Council to determine his application. Mr X also could have chosen not to withdraw his application and instead appealed to the Inspector if permission for the development was refused.
- I consider it would have been reasonable for Mr X to have used his right to appeal. The Ombudsman will not usually investigate when someone has a right to appeal to the Planning Inspector, even if the appeal would not address all the issues complained about.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he had the right to appeal to the Planning Inspector.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman