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. Mrs X complained that the Council did not notify her about a neighbour’s planning application for an extension. Mrs X says the extension will cause loss of light to her garden and lead to parking issues.

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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))

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Councils are required to publicise planning applications. The publicity required depends on the nature of the development. However, in all cases the Council must publish the application on its website.
6. The Council wrote to neighbouring properties but accepts it did not write to Mrs X. However, there is not enough evidence Mrs X has suffered significant personal injustice as a result.
7. The Council officer’s report addresses the impact on parking and residential amenity. The officer decided the proposal would not cause undue harm to neighbouring properties and would not adversely impact highway safety or require additional parking. The Council also explained further in response to Mrs X’s complaint why the development would not have an unacceptable impact.
8. I understand Mrs X disagrees. But the Council was entitled to use its professional judgment to decide the application was acceptable. As the Council properly assessed the acceptability of the development, I am satisfied the planning decision would have been the same if Mrs X was notified about the application and objected to the proposal.
9. Mrs X says no one visited her property to assess the impact of the development and she is concerned about how her neighbour’s property may be used in the future. However, the Council can only consider the application it receives and any material changes to the use of the property in the future may need permission. Councils are also not required to visit neighbouring properties before deciding a planning application and the acceptability of the development can usually be assessed from the application site.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she has not suffered significant injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman