Miss A & Ms A complained about Pembrokeshire County Council’s decision to grant planning permission to a neighbouring property.
When the Ombudsman looked at the complaint, she could see that the Council had considered some of Miss A & Ms A’s concerns at the first stage of its complaints procedure but had advised that it could not investigate further as the matters had been considered under other processes. Although Miss A and Ms A had further concerns these were not raised as formal complaints. The Ombudsman decided that the Council should review the concerns that were excluded from the complaints procedure and be given the opportunity to respond to the newer concerns.
The Ombudsman sought and gained the Council’s agreement to contact Miss A & Ms A within 4 weeks to agree the scope of their complaint, then within a further 4 weeks provide a response and explain clearly if any concerns are outside the scope of the complaints procedure.