Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of his planning application, which it refused. This is because it would have been reasonable for Mr X to appeal against the decision to the Planning Inspector.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains about the Council’s handling of his planning application. He disputes the reason given for rejecting the application and says the planning officer misled the planning committee.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’.
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a government minister. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(b), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by Mr X and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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Final decision

6. We will not investigate this complaint. This is because it would have been reasonable for Mr X to appeal against the Council’s decision for refusing his planning application.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman