Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council (26 016 466)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 21 Sep 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about delays by the Council when it considered Miss X’s planning application. This is because it is reasonable to expect her to have used her right of appeal, and it is not proportionate to investigate complaint handling on its own.
The complaint
- Miss X complains about delays by the Council when it considered her planning application. She also says it has not replied to her complaint. Miss X says this has caused significant stress, delays in building work and added costs. Miss X wants the Council to provide compensation.
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.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We will not investigate this complaint. The Council did not determine Miss X’s planning application within eight weeks. Once that period expired, Miss X had the right to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate against the Council’s failure to determine the application. It would have been reasonable for her to use that right.
- We will not investigate the Council’s complaint handling as a separate matter. It is not a proportionate use of public resources to investigate complaint handling where we are not investigating the substantive issue complained about.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint because it was reasonable to expect her to have used her right of appeal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman