Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has failed to enforce conditions on a planning permission. The Council has proposed to take action which is a satisfactory way to address the issues raised in the complaint.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council has failed to take planning enforcement action against a developer for installing windows in a building which breach the conditions on the associated planning permission.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We can 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. So, we do not start an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• we are satisfied with the action a council has already taken or proposes to take.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6) & (7), as amended, section 34(B))

3. Furthermore, the Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong, or substitute a council’s decision with our own. Instead, we look at the way a decision has been made. If there is insufficient evidence of fault in the decision-making process, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether the complainant disagrees with the decision made. If we do find evidence of fault in the process, we will consider whether it affected the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered:
• information provided by Mr X and the Council, which included their complaint correspondence and an update on the status of the enforcement case.
• information about the planning application on the Council’s website.
• the Council’s ‘Planning Enforcement Protocol.
• the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. I appreciate Mr X is concerned about the windows installed at the neighbouring property, and thinks the Council should have taken more robust action against the developer.
6. However, councils should not take enforcement action just because there has been a breach of planning control. Planning enforcement is discretionary and formal action should happen only when it would be a proportionate response to the breach. This means councils may decide to take informal action or not to act at all. Informal action might include negotiating improvements, seeking an assurance, or undertaking, or requesting submission of a planning application so they can formally consider the issues.
7. Here, the Council reminded the developer of the types of windows required to be installed prior to the occupation of the building, and initially set an early‑January 2024 deadline for the submission of a retrospective application.
8. Whilst it appears the Council did not update Mr X at the end of January 2024 as promised, and that little progress seems to have been made on the case since then, the Council has now written to the developer advising that it expects an application to be made by early-April. If this not forthcoming, it will then decide whether to take formal enforcement action. The Council also says it will inform Mr X of the final decision as to whether enforcement action will be taken once all available options for resolution have been exhausted, in accordance with its Enforcement Protocol.
9. As the Council is again taking steps to bring this enforcement case to a conclusion, I consider this to be a satisfactory way to address the issues raised in the complaint, so the Ombudsman will not start an investigation. I will remind the Council to update Mr X on what is happening with the case following the early‑April deadline.

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Final decision

10. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the Council has proposed to take action which is a satisfactory way to address the issues raised in the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman