Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the presence of a Council letter to a third party on a planning application file. There is not enough evidence of injustice significant enough to warrant an investigation.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council as highways authority influenced a live planning application by reversing a previous view on the highway impact. Mrs X said allowing extra heavy lorries on the road nearby will create an unacceptable hazard to road users and pedestrians.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We consider 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 any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Mrs X said the Council relied on a complaint response to a third party to retrospectively change its view on a planning application the local planning authority consulted it about.
6. The complaint response to the third party is private correspondence and not a reply to a planning consultation. It references various applications made in relation to the area and road in question.
7. The District Council is the planning authority in this case, not the County Council. The County Council is a statutory consultee acting as the highway authority.
8. Given the County Council is not responsible for granting planning permission, any injustice Mrs X has suffered is not a direct result of its actions.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of significant injustice to warrant an investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman