Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council (26 010 110)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 19 Jul 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about how the Council considered her planning applications. It would have been reasonable to expect Mrs X to have used her right of appeal to the Planning Inspector.
The complaint
- Mrs X complained the Council refused her planning applications due to minor issues.
- Mrs X said this caused a financial impact because she had to resubmit her application.
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 the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs X complained the Council refused two planning applications for minor errors. Mrs X said she asked if she could amend the errors, but the Council refused.
- As outlined in paragraph four, we cannot usually investigate where a person can appeal to a government minister.
- It would have been reasonable to expect Mrs X to have used her right of appeal to the Planning Inspector here.
- This appeal right is set out in law, and the Planning Inspector has powers to reconsider planning applications and overturn the original decision. The Ombudsman does not have these powers.
- For this reason, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it would have been reasonable for her to have appealed to the Planning Inspector.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman