PSOW Individual Decisions

Dr A submitted an appeal to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (“PEDW”) in May 2023. Although it had been acknowledged as a valid appeal in October 2023, he complained that a Planning Inspector had still not been allocated and no progress had been made. Dr A had complained to PEDW in June 2024 but had not received a formal complaint response. The Ombudsman found that there had been significant delays and the appeal timetable was not met, due to a backlog of cases and pressure on resources. PEDW had taken steps to address this by appointing new inspectors and administrative staff and the appeal had now been listed for consideration. This had caused frustration and inconvenience for Dr A. The Ombudsman further found that although an update had been provided following his complaint, no formal investigation had been undertaken and a complaint response was not provided. The Ombudsman decided to settle the complaint without investigation. She sought and obtained PEDW’s agreement to, within 2 weeks, provide Dr A with a written apology for failing to investigate and provide a formal response to his complaint, and to provide him with a formal complaint response.

Mr A complained about how Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (“PEDW”) handled his complaint, and that it had not responded to his emails. The Ombudsman found that there was an issue with PEDW not receiving some emails. She decided that PEDW was delayed in handling Mr A’s complaint, and that it had not thoroughly investigated the issues with Mr A’s emails. The Ombudsman said that this caused delays for Mr A and may have impacted his ability to appeal a case. She decided to settle the complaint without an investigation. The Ombudsman sought and gained PEDW’s agreement to apologise to Mr A and escalate his complaint in line with its complaints procedure, to consider how the complaint handling impacted the ability to appeal, to remedy any issues identified, and provide a final response within 20 working days.