Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a planning application. This is because the complainant has not suffered significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Ms X has complained about how the Council has dealt with a planning application. Ms X says the Council failed to tell her about the application and she did not have the opportunity to comment on the proposal. Ms X says the development will be built on land she owns and her property has been damaged.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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:

• 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))

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

Back to top

My assessment

5. Councils are required to give publicity to planning applications. The publicity required depends on the nature of the development. However, in all cases the application must be published on the Council’s website.
6. In this case, the Council has accepted it did not notify Ms X about the application as it should have. However, I do not consider Ms X has suffered any significant injustice as a result. I am satisfied the Council still properly considered the acceptability of the development, including the impact on neighbouring properties before granting planning permission. Therefore, I consider it likely the decision to grant planning permission would have been the same had Ms X known about the application and objected.
7. Ms X says she owns the land subject to the application and her property has been damaged. However, it is not for the Council to get involved in land ownership disputes and concerns about land ownership and property damage will be a private civil matter between Ms X and her neighbour.
8. Ms X has also complained about how the Council dealt with her complaint and says there were delays responding to her concerns. However, I do not consider that the injustice Ms X suffered because of these issues significant enough to warrant an investigation by the Ombudsman.

Back to top

Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find fault by the Council.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman