The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council reached its decision to grant planning permission for a development in its area. This is because there is no evidence of fault in how the Council reached its decision.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council failed to properly consider impact of contamination from the former use of land when it granted planning permission for a new development.
Mr X says he uses the area for recreation purposes and is concerned that the Council’s decision will have a long lasting impact on the local environment.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6)) We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service We cannot question whether a council’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and information about the planning application on the Council’s website.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council produced an officer report before the planning application was considered by its Planning Committee. The report recommended planning permission be granted.
The report considered information provided by Environment Agency, Environmental Health, the Local Flood Authority and local people. The report addressed concerns raised and considered local planning policies. Therefore there is no evidence of fault in how the Council reached its decision. Mr X may disagree with the conclusions the Council has reached but in the absence of evidence of fault we cannot criticise the Council’s decision.
Mr X says the strength of local objection to plans was not revealed to the Council’s Planning Committee when it reached its decision to grant planning permission. The strength of local opposition is not something the Council can consider when deciding whether to grant planning permission. The Council must consider the substance of any comments or objections. The Council’s case officer report summarises the objections raised by local people as well as other bodies and these cover the issues raised by Mr X. Therefore there is no evidence of fault in the way the Council presented information about objections to the development to the Planning Committee.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because there is no evidence of fault in the way the Council dealt with the planning application.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman