General planning advice (complaints about)

This fact sheet is aimed mainly at people who have received advice from the council about planning matters and may be considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman.

I asked the council if I could object to the works happening across the road. The council said the works did not need planning permission. I do not think this is right. Can the Ombudsman help me?

Yes, in certain circumstances. If the advice was wrong and it led to you being caused significant problems then you can complain to us. 

But we are unlikely to investigate your complaint if it relates solely to private matters between you and your neighbour like a dispute about land ownership. Similarly, the council normally has to treat discussions with applicants before an application is submitted as confidential.

We cannot usually consider a complaint which involves a planning application unless the Local Planning Authority has decided the application. This is because until then, even if a council has done something wrong, we do not know how it will affect you.

How do I complain?

The council’s policy should say how long it will take to respond. Our Complaint Handling Code says councils should have no more than two stages in a complaint process. The longest a complaint should take is 16 weeks.

The council should provide you with updates on your complaint, including when it may take longer to respond.

If your complaint is not making any progress, you can follow our top tips for making a complaint to find out what is happening.

If you complained more than 16 weeks ago, and you have not received a final response, we may be able to make enquiries about what is happening to your complaint. You should have tried to ask the council what is happening before contacting us about any delay.

If the council has sent you a final response (usually saying something like ‘this is our final response’) and you are unhappy with the outcome, you can complain to us.

You should normally make your complaint to us within 12 months of realising that the council has done something wrong.

If you can consider my complaint what will the Ombudsman look for?

If we can investigate, we look to see what effect following the advice has had on you and what would have been the outcome if the council had given you the right information in the first place. Some of the faults we might find are the council:

  • did not ask you for information which would have ensured you got a more accurate answer
  • did not have a system in place for ensuring it properly recorded the advice it gave
  • failed to make it clear its advice was informal, ie that it did not bind the council to make any particular decision in the future, or
  • wrongly told you that your neighbour did not need planning permission for the works next door, so you lost your opportunity to object to a planning application.

What happens if the Ombudsman finds the council was at fault?

Where it was at fault and you have suffered as a result, we can recommend that the council takes action to put the matter right. Depending on what the complaint is about, we may ask the council to:

  • ensure proper procedures are in place to provide advice to the public. For example, we might ask the council to introduce a written checklist or form which ensures it addresses all the right questions at the outset
  • ensure there is an agreed interpretation of the law so the council gives the same advice whichever member of staff answers the question
  • pay for the remedial works you had to take to reduce harm to you which arose because your neighbour was given the wrong advice, or
  • pay a financial remedy for your time and trouble in making the complaint.

Examples of complaints we have considered

Mr R complained  the council told his neighbours that they didn’t need planning permission for their conservatory which overlooked his property. The council accepted that it was in error and that permission was needed but said, if an application had been made, permission would have been granted with a condition requiring obscure glazing to protect Mr R’s amenity. There were two possible ways of putting right the situation. Either the wall between the two properties could be raised or obscure glazing could be fitted in the overlooking windows. The neighbours agreed to insert obscure glazing in the windows which overlooked Mr R’s; this was paid for by the council. The council also paid Mr R £250 for his time and trouble in making the complaint.
Mr X complained the council wrongly told him that land near his future home was not within the local development plan. Based on this advice Mr X bought a house feeling confident no development would be built on the nearby land. Since then, the Planning Inspector has approved a housing development on the land. Mr X says his house is devalued and the council should pay his costs of moving. We did not find enough evidence to show that the council told Mr X there could never be development on the land. If Mr X can prove the council gave negligent advice or information on which he relied, he may consider legal action against the council. A court can award compensation for negligent actions so it would be reasonable to pursue that alternative action.

Other sources of information

The Government’s website at www.gov.uk/government/topics/planning-and-building

Planning Aid’s website is at https://www.rtpi.org.uk/planning-advice/about-planning-aid-england/

 

Your local council’s website will contain information about some planning matters.

Our fact sheets give some general information about the most common type of complaints we receive but they cannot cover every situation. If you are not sure whether we can look into your complaint, please contact us.

We provide a free, independent and impartial service. We consider complaints about the administrative actions of councils and some other authorities. We cannot question what a council has done simply because someone does not agree with it. If we find something has gone wrong, such as poor service, service failure, delay or bad advice and that a person has suffered as a result we aim to get it put right by recommending a suitable remedy..

March 2024

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