Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (25 014 941)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 23 Feb 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to approve planning permission. It is unlikely investigation would find enough evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
- Miss X complains the Council, when granting permission for a new building next to her home:
- did not properly tell her about the application;
- failed to consider the impact on her privacy and amenity; and
- did not visit her property as part of the decision-making process.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We consider complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Miss X and the Council.
- I considered the Council’s report on the planning application.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council states site notices were displayed advertising the application. It also says it sent letters to neighbours, including Miss X. Miss X says she did not see a notice or receive a letter. It is unlikely the limited records available would show enough evidence of fault by the Council if we were to investigate.
- The Council’s report when it was considering the application took account of the new building’s height and the potential impact on privacy and light. It acknowledged there would be some impact on Miss X, though the Council said it would not be enough to justify the refusal of planning permission. The evidence suggests the Council reached its decision properly. So, as paragraph 2 explained, we cannot criticise the decision, although Miss X is entitled to disagree with the Council.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of Council fault to warrant us investigating.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman