Ashfield District Council (23 020 023)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Planning advice 31-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s pre-application planning advice service. This is because the Council has dealt with Mr X’s request and provided advice on his proposal and there is not enough evidence of fault to warrant a refund of the fee.

Westmorland and Furness Council (23 018 472)

Statement Upheld Planning advice 30-Mar-2024

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint about the Council’s planning advice service. This is because the Council has provided a suitable remedy for its delay and it is unlikely investigation would achieve anything more for her. If Mrs X wants a binding decision on her proposal she may wish to apply for planning permission and if the Council refuses her application it would be reasonable for her to appeal.

Westmorland and Furness Council (23 018 706)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Planning advice 29-Feb-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with the complainant’s planning application. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate.

City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council (23 016 377)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Planning advice 28-Feb-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of the complainant’s planning application. This is because the complainant has appealed to the Planning Inspector.

Ashfield District Council (23 007 922)

Statement Not upheld Planning advice 16-Feb-2024

Summary: X complained about the advice the Council gave about whether their proposed works needed planning permission. We did not continue our investigation because it was unlikely to result in a remedy for X or any other meaningful outcome.

Dorset Council (23 015 290)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Planning advice 15-Feb-2024

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s pre-application planning advice. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council.

South Holland District Council (23 015 432)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Planning advice 13-Feb-2024

Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s pre-application planning advice. This is because Mr X applied for planning permission against the Council’s recommendation and did not seek any further advice after correcting an error regarding the location of the proposal. The Council also made clear its advice was informal and non-binding and it was Mr X’s choice to incur costs to pursue a formal application. We could not therefore say the injustice he claims is the result of any fault by the Council.

Bedford Borough Council (23 017 416)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Planning advice 09-Feb-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with the complainant’s request for pre-application planning advice. This is because it is unlikely an investigation would add to the Council’s response or achieve anything more for the complainant.

London Borough of Waltham Forest (23 005 554)

Statement Upheld Planning advice 31-Jan-2024

Summary: Mr X complained the Council did not provide him with the pre-application planning advice he paid for. We agree and find the Council at fault for not doing so. To remedy the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to refund the fee Mr X paid for the advice and apologise to him.

Derbyshire Dales District Council (23 014 400)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Planning advice 25-Jan-2024

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about planning advice given at a meeting, because we are unlikely to be able to establish whether the Council acted with fault. It is also reasonable to expect the complainant to have appealed to the Planning Inspectorate if he wanted to challenge the refusal of his planning application.