New planning complaint decisions

A weekly update on planning complaint decisions

Please note: our decisions are published six weeks after they are issued to councils, care providers and the person who has made the complaint. The cases below reflect the caselaw and guidance available at the time of issue and the individual circumstances of each case.


Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council refusing to take planning enforcement action against an outbuilding being used as a bedroom. It is reasonable to expect the complainant to have contacted us sooner about some parts of the complaint, and there is insufficient evidence of fault in the way the Council considered the planning application and subsequent planning enforcement issues.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a planning application. This is because we are unlikely to find fault.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with a planning application. This is because we are unlikely to find fault.

Summary: We will not investigate Mr B’s complaint that the Council has unreasonably delayed deciding his planning application. This is because it is reasonable for Mr B to put in an appeal to the Planning Inspector.

Summary: We cannot investigate this planning complaint because it is made by a parish council. We cannot investigate complaints made by public bodies such as parish councils.

Summary: Mr B complained about the way the Council considered a planning application for development near his property. We have not found fault with actions of the Council

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a planning application for a development with which Mr X is concerned. This is because Mr X used his right of appeal to the courts which places the complaint outside our jurisdiction.

Summary: Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of a planning enforcement case concerning a neighbour’s fence. We will not investigate the complaint because we are unlikely to find evidence of fault by the Council sufficient to warrant an investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about planning enforcement as there is no evidence of fault by the Council causing significant injustice.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s actions on an extension built by the complainant’s neighbour. There is insufficient evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s approval of a landscaping scheme for a development in the village where the complainant lives. We do not consider the complainant has suffered a significant personal injustice which warrants our involvement. Nor can we achieve the outcome he is seeking.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to take enforcement action against breaches of planning control and an Enforcement Notice. There is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council has responded to the complainants’ reports to justify an investigation.

Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council’s decision to approve her neighbour’s planning application which she said had adverse impacts on her privacy. We found no fault in the decision-making process.

Summary: We will not investigate Mrs B’s complaint that the Council has not fully explained why it considers a planning application for the neighbouring property is acceptable. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault to justify an investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council dealt with the complainant’s planning applications. This is because the complainant had the right to appeal to the Planning Inspector.