London Borough of Bromley (21 018 895)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 31 Mar 2022
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint about the Council’s decision to grant planning permission for changes to the building where she lives. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
The complaint
- The complainant, who I will refer to as Ms B, complains about the Council’s decision to grant planning permission for a loft extension in the building where she lives. Ms B says it should have been clear to the Council that the building work would be very dangerous for the residents living in the flats below. Ms B says since building work has started there have been numerous incidents of masonry falling on to the path outside her home.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Ombudsman investigates 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 an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Ms B.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- The Council can only consider material planning considerations when deciding whether to grant planning permission for a development. Disturbance during construction work is not a material planning consideration which the Council could consider when assessing whether the proposal was acceptable in planning terms. So, the Council was not at fault for not considering the impact of construction work on other residents of the building.
- Also, the Council was correct to advise Ms B to report her concerns to the Health and Safety Executive, which is in the best position to investigate health and safety issues on construction sites.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Ms B’s complaint because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman