BLACKBURN WITH DARWIN BOROUGH COUNCIL (04/C/00758; 04/C/00759; 04/C/00760; 04/C/00761) (2005)
Local Government Ombudsman 1/2/2005
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
PLANNING APPLICATIONS : PLANNING PERMISSION
The complaint is that the Council failed to provide accurate information about a planning consent to the proprietor of a taxi firm based in a unit near their own businesses, and also failed to take enforcement action against the proprietor who was in breach of a planning condition arising from that consent. The Council responded to an informal enquiry from the taxi firm proprietor without conducting any research to confirm the information provided by the proprietor. The Council’s letter contained no disclaimer or qualification and together these failings were maladministration. The result was that the Council allowed the proprietor to conduct a business without applying for planning permission as he should otherwise have done. The result was that the complainants lost their opportunity to object to such an application. It was the Local Government Ombudsman’s view that had such an application been submitted and considered by the planning committee properly, a restriction limiting the number of taxis operating from the unit would have been applied. The Council evidently agreed with the complainants that the proprietor should apply with another condition. However, when the complainants alleged that the proprietor was in breach of this condition, the Council failed to investigate that breach, and took no action to establish whether the condition was indeed still enforceable.
HELD: The Ombudsman made a finding of maladministration causing injustice and recommended that (i) the Council pay compensation of £350 to each complainant to remedy their lost opportunity to object to a planning application by the taxi firm with a further £150 to each complainant for their time and trouble; (ii) the Council now carries out a proper investigation to establish whether the planning condition has been breached and is enforceable; (iii) the Council produce guidance for its officers on dealing with planning enquiries whether in writing or in person from members of the public, as well as properly recording all such contacts and actions taken as a result.
|
