The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s designation of his land as an ‘important open area’. This is because the complaint is late and the injustice Mr X claims lies in the refusal of his planning application- a decision against which he has appealed.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, complains about the Council’s designation of land he owns as an ‘Important Open Area’ (IOA). He says the Council cannot justify inclusion of the land as an IOA and he has no way to appeal against the designation. As a result the Council rejected his planning application to develop the land in 2019.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a government minister. We may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal but cannot investigate if the person has already appealed. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b)) The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister. The Planning Inspector considers appeals against decisions to refuse planning permission.
We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council designated Mr X’s land as an IOA as part of its development plan more than 12 months ago; any complaint about this decision is therefore late. The plan was also examined and approved by an inspector at the time and it is therefore unlikely we could say it amounted to fault, even if we were to investigate the matter.
Mr X’s injustice lies in the Council’s refusal of his planning application in 2019 and we cannot consider any complaint about this decision now. This is because it dates to more than 12 months before Mr X’s complaint to the Ombudsman and because Mr X has used his right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate. I also note the designation of the land was not the sole reason for refusal by the Council or the Planning Inspectorate in any event.
If Mr X believes his land should be removed as an IOA he may wish to lobby the Council as part of the process for making a new plan. We could not say the Council must amend the current plan, which has been scrutinised by an Inspector, to change it now.
Final decision
We cannot investigate this complaint. This is because the complaint is late and Mr X’s injustice lies in the Council’s refusal of his planning application which is a decision he has appealed against to the Planning Inspectorate.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman