Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council’s failure to demonstrate a 5-year housing land supply is affecting its decisions on planning applications. The complainant has not yet suffered a significant injustice as a result of the alleged fault, we could not achieve a worthwhile outcome, and we cannot recommend disciplinary action against council officers.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed to demonstrate it has a 5-year housing land supply. He says this resulted in planning permission being granted for a residential development behind his property, because the balancing of planning policies was therefore tilted in favour of the developer.

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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 an investigation if we decide:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint, or
• there is no worthwhile outcome achievable by our investigation.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered:
• information provided by Mr X.
• information on the Council’s website about the planning application and the associated Planning Committee meeting.
• information on the Council’s website about the South Worcestershire Development Plan review.
• the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

4. The planning permission for the development has not yet been issued, as it is pending the completion of a legal agreement. So, any injustice to Mr X is speculative and insufficient to warrant investigation. The legal agreement may not be completed and therefore the Council will not be able to grant planning permission. 
5. And even if the planning permission had been issued, an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to achieve a worthwhile or different outcome. The review of the South Worcestershire Development Plan is currently at the Examination stage. Once it is adopted, the Council says it will have a 5-year housing land supply. The Ombudsman has no power to influence or speed-up that adoption process, so an investigation could not achieve any worthwhile service improvements.
6. Finally, the Ombudsman cannot recommend disciplinary action of council staff, so we cannot achieve one of the outcomes Mr X is seeking.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has not yet been caused a significant injustice, we cannot achieve a worthwhile outcome, and we cannot recommend the disciplinary action he desires.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman