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Case ref:201203561
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Date:September 2013
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Body:South Lanarkshire Council
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Sector:Local Government
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Outcome:Not upheld, recommendations
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Subject:handling of application (complaints by opponents)
Summary
Mr C was concerned that a neighbours CCTV cameras appeared to include his property in the field of vision. He was not satisfied with the way the council looked into his complaints about the matter. Mr C said the council gave him conflicting information about the cameras, and about the law relating to these, and whether or not planning permission or a certificate of lawfulness was required. He was unhappy with the way the council had taken the matter forward and with the information he was given and brought the complaint to us.
We did not uphold the specific complaints Mr C brought to us, but were critical of the council for an apparent lack of transparency. We said they should have verified information rather than making assumptions, and we made recommendations for improvement.
Recommendations
We recommended that the council:
- take steps to ensure that, in future, possible relevant options for action are clearly explained to all parties involved in a complaint of a breach of planning; and
- remind staff making site visits to check and verify the information that they record and pass on, as well as keeping a written record of the visit.