Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the handling of a planning application because we are unlikely to add anything further to the Council’s response. It is also not yet possible to say if the complainants have suffered significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr Y complains on behalf of local residents, about the Council’s handling of a planning application. He says the Council has made it difficult for residents to meaningfully engage with the planning process.

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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:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, 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 Y and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mr Y contacted the Council about a planning application. He says the Council failed to respond to him appropriately and failed to answer reasonable questions about the application. Mr Y complained to the Council about this.
6. Since Mr Y’s complaint to us, the Council has responded to Mr Y and addressed the questions he had. The Council provided clear answers to Mr Y’s questions, explaining its current position. I understand Mr Y wants the Council to agree to meet with him and says the Council has made it difficult for resident to engage with the planning process. But the Council properly publicised the application and residents had the opportunity to comment on the proposal. Any comments received will be considered by the Council when it assesses the acceptability of the development. There is no requirement for it to consult with residents outside of this process and the Council explained it does not meet with groups or individuals to discuss planning applications.
7. We will not investigate this complaint because we are unlikely to add anything further to the Council’s response. The Council has responded to Mr Y’s questions and explained its current position. An investigation by the Ombudsman would be unlikely to achieve anything further for Mr Y.
8. As the planning application decision remains pending, we are unable to consider whether there has been significant injustice because of any fault in the Council’s actions. We will not be able to assess this until the planning application has been fully considered and determined. Mr Y may wish to complain further, once a decision has been reached by the Council, if he is unhappy with the outcome.
9. Mr Y has also complained about the Council’s complaint handling. However, where the Ombudsman has decided not to investigate the substantive issues complained about, we will not usually use public resources to consider more minor matters such as complaint handling.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr Y’s complaint because we are unlikely to add anything further to the Council’s response. It is also not yet possible to say if the complainants have suffered significant injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman