Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint concerning the Council’s handling of representations submitted about the complainant’s planning application. The law does not allow us to investigate where the complainant has already used their right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. It would also not be a good use of our resources to look at the Council’s subsequent complaint handling in isolation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of representations during the determination of his planning application and subsequent appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. In particular, he says the Council:
• removed valid representations from its online planning portal.
• failed to forward several of the representations to the Planning Inspector or him as the appellant.
• issued untrue written statements that all representations had been forwarded.
2. Mr X says the subsequent complaint process failed to properly address the issues he was raising. The Stage 2 complaint officer also added an extra condition when signing off another of Mr X’s planning applications, which he says raises impartiality concerns.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. It says we cannot investigate a complaint if someone has appealed to a government minister. The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of a government minister, and considers appeals about:
• a decision to refuse planning permission;
• conditions placed on planning permission.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b), as amended)

5. It is also not a good use of public resources to investigate complaints about complaint procedures, if we are unable to deal with the substantive issue.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered:
• information provided by Mr X.
• information about Mr X’s planning applications and associated appeals, as available on the Council’s and Planning Inspectorate’s websites.
• the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. I appreciate Mr X says he is complaining about the Council’s handling of the planning application and appeal processes, rather than the planning merits of his proposals.
8. But these matters are inextricably linked to the planning decision/outcome on his applications, which have been appealed. The Ombudsman cannot investigate when someone has appealed to the Planning Inspector, even if the appeal could not address, or provide a remedy for, all the issues complained about.
9. As we cannot look at the main issues being complained about, it would not be a good use of our resources to look at the Council’s complaint handling in isolation.

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Final decision

10. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the handling of his planning applications, because he has already used his right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. It would also not be a good use of our resources to look at the Council’s subsequent complaint handling in isolation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman