Overview
The complainants (Mr and Mrs C) raised a number of concerns about East Lothian Council (the Council)'s actions in relation to works which they were carrying out to their house. In particular it is alleged that amongst other things, the Council stopped works, failed to reply to correspondence, published their correspondence on a website and interfered in the sale of the property.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
- (a) the Council delayed in dealing with their application for a building warrant (not upheld);
- (b) the Council stopped works on site (upheld);
- (c) despite a reminder, the Council failed to respond to a letter of 27 April 2005 (upheld);
- (d) the Council published their correspondence on the Council's planning website (not upheld);
- (e) the Council interfered with the sale of their house (upheld); and
- (f) the Council delayed in issuing a completion certificate (not upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the Council:
- (i) apologise for the stoppage of work in March 2005 and for the Planning Enforcement Officer calling the complainant's solicitor;
- (ii) emphasise to staff the importance of timely responses to correspondence;
- (iii) emphasise to planning officers when it is appropriate for them to discuss aspects of a planning application with third parties; and
- (iv) apologise for the delay in issuing a completion certificate and give consideration to advising applicants of the likely timescales when a delay is likely.
The Council have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.