The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his neighbour’s planning application. This is because the Council’s actions have not caused Mr X significant injustice.
The complaint
The complainant, Mr X, complains the Council has redacted parts of his objection to his neighbour’s planning application and will not accept photographic evidence in support of his objection. He also complains council staff have blocked access to their emails, preventing him from contacting them about the application.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the @complainant @and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council has not yet issued a decision on Mr X’s neighbour’s planning application; we do not therefore know if the Council will grant planning permission or refuse the application. At this stage the Council’s actions, whether fault or not, do not therefore cause Mr X significant injustice and do not warrant further investigation. We cannot stop the Council from making a decision and can only consider complaints about matters which have already taken place.
I would however ask Mr X to note that there is no requirement for the Council to discuss the proposal with him or to enter into further correspondence about the matter before reaching its decision.
In the event the Council grants planning permission for the proposal, and if Mr X believes it has failed to properly consider his objection, he may raise a new complaint about the decision. He should complete the Council’s complaints procedure before referring the matter to us if he remains unhappy. Any new complaint would need to be brought to us within 12 months of the Council’s decision.
Final decision
We will not investigate this complaint. This is because the Council’s actions have not caused Mr X significant injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman