Forest of Dean District Council (25 004 921)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 02 Jul 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with the complainant’s planning applications. This is because the complainant has appealed to the Planning Inspector.
The complaint
- Mr X has complained about how the Council dealt with his planning applications. Mr X says the Council put pressure on him to withdraw his application and he was not given an opportunity to address the concerns raised about the development. Mr X says he has been caused stress and suffered financial loss 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.
- We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a government minister. The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of a government minister. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b), as amended)
- 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
- The Ombudsman cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s decision to refuse his planning applications. This is because he has appealed to the Planning Inspector about the Council’s decisions and the Ombudsman cannot investigate matters where someone has already used their appeal right.
- I understand Mr X has also complained about how the applications were handled by the Council. But the issues Mr X has raised are related to the planning decisions which have been appealed. The Ombudsman cannot investigate when someone has appealed to the Planning Inspector, even if the appeal will not address all the issues complained about.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has appealed to the Planning Inspector.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman