Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (24 016 075)
Category : Planning > Planning applications
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 27 Feb 2025
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of and decisions on Mr X’s planning applications. This is because Mr X has or had a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate which places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.
The complaint
- Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of planning matters in relation to the fence he has built at his property.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
- 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)
- The Planning Inspector acts on behalf of the responsible Government minister. The Planning Inspector considers appeals about:
- Delay – usually over eight weeks – by an authority in deciding an application for planning permission
- A decision to refuse planning permission
- Conditions placed on planning permission
- A planning enforcement notice.
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- We previously decided an earlier complaint from Mr X about a planning application he had made in connection with a fence he had built at his property for which the Council had refused planning permission. The Planning Inspectorate upheld the Council’s decision and refused Mr X’s appeal. We will not go back to revisit the same matters raised in the earlier complaint.
- Since Mr X lost his appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, he submitted a new planning application in relation to the fence for which the Council granted planning permission in April 2024.
- If Mr X had been dissatisfied with the decision on this application, it would have been open to him to have appealed against it to the Planning Inspectorate. If Mr X seeks permission for development not covered by the permission granted in April 2024, it is open to him to submit a new planning application.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he has or had a right of appeal to the Planning Inspectorate which places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman