Birmingham City Council (25 014 958)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 09 Jan 2026
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
- Ms X has complained about how the Council dealt with her planning application. Ms X says there were delays and the planning decision was based on inaccurate information.
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 Ms X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Ms X could have appealed to the Planning Inspector if she was unhappy with the Council’s decision to refuse planning permission. She also could have appealed to the Inspector for non-determination if she was unhappy with how long the Council was taking to decide her application.
- Ms X says the planning decision was based on inaccurate information. But the Council’s assessment of the development is related to the planning decision which could have been appealed, and I consider it would have been reasonable for Ms X to have used her right to appeal. The Ombudsman will not usually investigate when someone had 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 Ms X’s complaint because she had the right to appeal to the Planning Inspector.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman