The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s refusal to take planning enforcement action against a neighbour. We will not investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
Mr X complains about the Council’s refusal to take planning enforcement action against a neighbour.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We have the power to start or discontinue an investigation into a complaint within our jurisdiction. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we think the issues could reasonably be, or have been, raised within a court of law. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(6) and 34B(8), as amended) The Ombudsman investigates 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 may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or further investigation would not lead to a different outcome, or we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
I considered the complainant’s comments on my draft decision.
My assessment
Mr X says that a neighbour has built a wall on top of a wall partly owned by Mr X. He says that a roof was removed without authorisation and he is now overlooked by the neighbour.
The Council’s Planning Officer made two visits to the site and took measurements. They say that, whilst there is a slight deviation from the approved plans, the difference is not great enough to warrant enforcement action.
It is not for the Ombudsman to decide whether or not enforcement action should be taken. Rather he must decide whether the decision was taken as a result of administrative fault. In this case I am not persuaded there is evidence of such fault as to warrant investigation.
Any damage caused by the neighbour or any dispute about ownership is a private matter which can be dealt with through the courts.
The Council says that the roof was just temporarily removed as part of the building process and has now been replaced.
Final decision
I do not intend to investigate this complaint because there is no evidence of fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman