Summary: Mrs J complained the Council failed to properly consider the impact on her property when it granted planning consent for a footpath in 2020. We have ended our investigation as the complaint is late and there are no good reasons for the complaint not to have been made sooner.

The complaint

1. Mrs J complained through her son, Mr D, that the Council failed to properly consider the impact on her property when it granted planning consent for a raised footpath. As a result there is overlooking and she has to use curtains which make her living room dark.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
3. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I spoke to Mr D about the complaint and considered the information he and the Council sent.
5. Mr D and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Planning law and guidance

6. Councils should approve planning applications that accord with policies in the local development plan, unless other material planning considerations indicate they should not. Material considerations relate to the use and development of land in the public interest, and not to private considerations such as reduction in the value of a property. They include issues such as overlooking and privacy. Local opposition or support for a proposal is not in itself a ground for refusing or granting planning permission, unless is it founded upon valid material planning reasons. It is for the decision maker to decide the weight to be given to any material consideration in determining a planning application.
7. Applicants have a right of appeal to the Planning Inspector against a decision to refuse a planning application. If objectors or others are unhappy with a planning decision, they may make a formal complaint to the Council.

What happened

8. I have summarised the key events; this is not meant to detail everything that happened.
9. Mrs J lives in a ground floor flat. The Council granted planning permission in 2019 for a footpath outside Mrs J’s home to be rebuilt and raised. There is evidence that in March 2020, Mrs J spoke to the Council about having trellis installed. This was because she was concerned about lack of privacy and overlooking into her living room from the new footpath.
10. There was a further discussion between Mrs J’s family and the Council in July 2020 about installing a privacy screen. The Council said this would require planning permission and it was likely to be refused due to detracting from the appearance of the area.
11. Mrs J’s son, Mr D, wrote to the local MP on 13 August 2020 setting out their concerns about privacy and security. The MP contacted the Council and on 28 August sent Mr D the Council’s response. The Council considered the planning decision had been properly made and noted there had been no objections. It offered to install planting to improve security outside Mrs J’s home.
12. Mr D continue to correspond with the Council through the MP over the next few years. Mr D says there were often long periods awaiting responses from the Council. In addition, there were COVID-19 lockdowns and his wife was undergoing cancer treatment.
13. On 11 April 2022, the MP’s office gave Mr D details of how to complain to the Ombudsman. Mr D says he understood that he should draw up the complaint and the MP would submit it on his behalf, but he then underwent his own cancer treatment. Mr D contacted the MP again in July 2023. The MP’s office advised he raise a complaint with the Council. Mr D did so on 4 December 2023.
14. Mr D came to the Ombudsman in April 2024 as he had had no response from the Council. The Council issued its final complaint response on 29 August. It did not uphold the complaint.

My findings

15. The law says we cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council or care provider has done.
16. Mrs J and Mr D were aware of the problems caused by the new footpath by August 2020. They approached the Ombudsman in November 2023.
17. This is therefore a late complaint. We may exercise discretion to investigate late complaints if we decide there are good reasons for not complaining sooner. In determining this, we consider whether there is a realistic prospect of reaching a sound, fair, and meaningful decision about events that happened more than twelve months ago, and whether we are satisfied that the complainant could not reasonably be expected to have complained sooner. This is because we provide a free service but must use public money carefully.
18. When the Council responded via the MP on 28 August 2020, my view is that it would have been reasonable to have made a formal complaint to the Council at that point. I acknowledge that there were COVID-19 lockdowns and that both Mr D and his wife underwent cancer treatment. But the March 2020 lockdown had not prevented Mr D from contacting the MP or the Council and Mr D’s treatment did not start until 2022.
19. Mr D says the family wanted to try to negotiate a solution with the Council before raising a complaint, but this negotiation took a long time due to delays in responses by the Council. My view is that the desire for a solution is not a good reason not to raise a formal complaint.
20. I find there were no good reasons for the complaint not to have been brought to us sooner. I therefore do not have sufficient grounds to exercise discretion to investigate a late complaint.

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Final decision

21. We have discontinued our investigation as the complaint is late.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman