The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to respond to Mr X’s complaint. This is because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, who I refer to as Mr X, says the Council, and particularly its Chief Executive, has failed to respond to a complaint he made which related to planning matters and the refusal of permission for an application he had submitted.
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) The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a government minister. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b)) The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister and considers appeals about delay in deciding an application for planning permission and a decision to refuse permission.
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council, including its responses to his complaint.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X applied for planning permission. A councillor called in his application to be decided by Committee rather than under officer delegated powers.
Mr X complained about this but the Council did not uphold his complaint.
The Committee decided to refuse planning permission for his development and Mr X made a further complaint about the matter which was responded to by the Chief Executive. The Chief Executive informed Mr X that if he was dissatisfied with the formal response to his complaint, he could complain to the Ombudsman.
Mr X then made a further complaint about the Chief Executive and complained to us when he did not receive a reply.
Planning matters relating to the refusal of permission fall outside our jurisdiction and will not be investigated. Mr X has appeal rights to the Planning Inspectorate which we would reasonably expect him to use.
With regards to the handling of his complaints, I have seen no evidence to suggest fault by the Council. The Chief Executive told Mr X he could complain to the Ombudsman, and it is not obliged to continue to respond to matters it has already adequately addressed.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman