The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to approve a planning application for a site next to the complainant’s home. Both the planning officer and committee considered the relevant legislation, the objections received and the impact on Mr X’s home. It decided to approve the application. Without fault in the process, this is a decision the Council is entitled to make.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council discriminated against him when it gave planning permission for a development close to his home.
He says the Council: deemed changes to be non-material amendments; and fails to accept the land in question will be accessible and will be a security risk He wants the planning permission withdrawn and the application reconsidered with full consultation, consideration, and accurate measurements for the proposed plot closest to his home. He also wants the non-public access land directly adjacent to his home to be made totally inaccessible with secure fencing.
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 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 continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Planning controls the design, location and appearance of development and its impact on public amenity. Planning controls are not designed to protect private rights or interests. The Council may grant planning permission with conditions to control the use or development of land.
Local Planning Authorities must consider each application it receives on its own merits and decide it in line with their local planning policies unless material considerations suggest otherwise. Material considerations concern the use and development of land in the public interest and include issues such as overlooking, traffic generation and noise. People’s comments on planning and land use issues linked to development proposals will be material considerations. Councils must take such comments into account but do not have to agree with those comments.
A council planning officer will normally visit the application site and write a report assessing the proposed development. The report will refer to relevant planning policies and the planning history of the site; summarise peoples’ comments; and consider the main planning issues for deciding the application. The assessment often involves the planning officer in balancing and weighing the planning issues and judging the merits of the proposed development. The report usually ends with a recommendation to grant or refuse planning permission.
A senior planning officer will consider most reports, but, as in this case, some go to the council’s planning committee for councillors to decide the application. The committee may disagree with the case officer’s recommendation because it is for the decision maker to decide the weight given to any material consideration when deciding a planning application. Development usually gets planning permission if the council considers it is in line with planning policy and finds no planning reason(s) of enough weight to justify a refusal.
The planning officer’s report shows the Council was aware of the position of Mr X’s home including the locations of his windows. The Council also confirms the planning officer sought changes to the application and secured an increased separation distance between the development and Mr X's home. There will be no new properties directly in front of his home to maintain his privacy.
The Council confirms it does not consider the inclusion of a set of steps on the site to negatively impact his amenity and says it improves the pedestrian connectivity on the site.
The published minutes show the members of the Council’s planning committee visited the application site. The planning officer’s report gives specific consideration to the impact of the proposed development on Mr X’s home. An update to the planning committee also referred to Mr X’s objections and explains why the planning officer consider the application acceptable and recommended it for approval.
The minutes of the meeting show the application was considered and people spoke in objection and support of the proposal. Conditions placed on the planning permission include: a requirement for technical details for the staircase; and details of the boundary treatment for the open space adjacent to Mr X’s home I am therefore satisfied that the Council was fully aware of the material planning considerations before deciding to approve the application.
It is for planning officers and committee members to balance both national and local policy and decide to approve an application or not. We must consider whether there was fault in how the Council did this, not whether the decision was right or wrong. Without fault in the decision-making process, we cannot question the decision itself.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because I have not seen any evidence of fault in the way the Council decided to approve the planning application.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman