Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s failure to take further enforcement action against building work at his neighbour’s property. Part of the complaint is late, and we have seen no good reasons why Mr X could not have complained to us much sooner. For the part that is not late, we cannot achieve the outcome Mr X is seeking.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed to enforce against breaches of planning and building regulations by his neighbour. He says the Council has negotiated with the neighbour and granted retrospective planning permission despite his objections.
2. Mr X wants us to:
• Investigate the Council’s decision making over the last five years.
• Restore the neighbouring garden levels to the original state and remove the garden building.
• Reduce the height of a wall: and
• Apologise.

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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. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
5. 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
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
7. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

8. Mr X’s neighbour carried out building work at his home. He submitted several prior approval and planning applications for the work, some of which were retrospective. However, all applications were made more than two years ago.
9. The Council issued an enforcement notice in October 2022. An appeal was submitted by the owner, but the notice was upheld by the Planning Inspectorate in July 2023.
10. The Planning Inspectorate set the compliance period for the notice to seven months.
11. The information I have seen suggests Mr X would have been aware the enforcement notice had not been complied with by February 2024. It is reasonable for him to have complained to the Ombudsman sooner.
12. We normally expect people to complain to us within 12 months of them becoming aware of a problem. Mr X has been aware of his neighbour’s building works and the Council’s actions since 2020, and the enforcement notice expired in February 2024. However, we did not receive Mr X’s complaint until January 2026.
13. We do not exercise discretion to accept a late complaint unless there are good reasons to do so. I have seen no good reason why Mr X could not have complained to us much sooner about matter occurring more than 12 months before he complained to us.
14. Mr X complains about the Councils decision not to take enforcement action because it decided it is not expedient to do so.
15. The Council has visited the site and is aware of the breaches of planning control which remain on the site. It has decided that the difference in garden levels (on the sloping road) between the neighbour’s gardens are not so significant as to specifically create overlooking to Mr X’s house. It noted the 1.9 metre garden wall prevented overlooking into Mr X’s garden. It also noted planning permission has been granted for the neighbours to retain parts of the garden next to a retained patio, to be higher than the ground levels at the boundary with Mr X’s home.
16. The Council says it has asked the neighbour to render the build and reduce the height. However, it confirms this matter is ongoing and the work is subject to Mr X granting his neighbour access to the build from his aide.
17. Councils can take enforcement action if they find a breach of planning rules. However, councils should not take enforcement action just because there has been a breach of planning control.
18. Planning enforcement is discretionary and formal action should happen only when it would be a proportionate response to the breach.
19. In this case, the Council has visited the site, measured the site levels and the height of the wall and explained why it does not consider it expedient to take enforcement action. This is a decision it is entitled to take, and I have not seen enough evidence of fault in the way the Council came to this decision.

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Final decision

20. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because concerns about issues arising before January 2025 are made too late. We have not seen enough evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision not to take enforcement action against the breaches of planning control that remain on the site. As we cannot require the Council to restore the neighbouring garden levels to the original state, remove the garden building and reduce the height of the garden wall.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman