Recent statements in this category are shown below:
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London Borough of Barnet (25 023 940)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Planning applications 07-Jul-2026
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.
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Stoke-on-Trent City Council (25 023 416)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Planning applications 06-Jul-2026
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council dealt with a planning application. We have not seen enough evidence of fault in the Council’s actions. And we cannot require the Council to refund the planning application fee.
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London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (25 022 849)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Planning applications 05-Jul-2026
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to approve a planning application for a site near Mrs X’s home. The complaint about the decision to approve the planning application in 2024 is made too late and we have seen no reason why Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner. Also, concerns about planning applications decided in 2026 are premature. The Council should be allowed to respond to these concerns before the Ombudsman can consider them.
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Statement Closed after initial enquiries Planning applications 05-Jul-2026
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the time taken by the Council to decide a planning application by a neighbour. The application was to make permanent a use that had existed for some years. There is not enough evidence of injustice to Mrs X to warrant investigation by us.
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Southampton City Council (25 022 649)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Planning applications 30-Jun-2026
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council handled a planning application. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant an investigation, and an investigation by the Ombudsman is unlikely to lead to a different outcome.
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Manchester City Council (25 022 852)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Planning applications 30-Jun-2026
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the way the Council conducted a consultation on its planning policy. The complaint is made too late and we have seen no reason why Mr X could not have complained to us much sooner.
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Statement Closed after initial enquiries Planning applications 30-Jun-2026
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the time taken by the Council to determine a planning application as the result of an alleged procedural error. Mrs X had a right of appeal to the Planning Inspector it would have been reasonable to use
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City of York Council (25 022 931)
Statement Closed after initial enquiries Planning applications 29-Jun-2026
Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about how the Council considered and its committee decided a planning application for the development of a site next to her property. There is not enough evidence of Council fault in the planning processes to warrant us investigating. We also cannot achieve the core planning outcome Mrs X seeks from the complaint.
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Middlesbrough Borough Council (25 013 902)
Statement Upheld Planning applications 28-Jun-2026
Summary: There was fault by the Council. The planning report for a planning application for a petrol filling station failed to record consideration of the noise impact and hours of operation. On the balance of probabilities, this fault has not affected the outcome of the planning application but has caused distress and uncertainty to Mr X. An apology and symbolic payment remedies the injustice caused.
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Wokingham Borough Council (25 013 839)
Statement Not upheld Planning applications 25-Jun-2026
Summary: We have ended our investigation into Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s determination of a planning application because further investigation would not lead to a different outcome from that already achieved by the Council’s actions.