Mr X complained about the lack of action taken by the Planning Enforcement team in relation to his complaints to it. He was also concerned that matters had not been resolved despite his formal complaint to the Council about the delay being upheld.
The Council accepted that there had been considerable delay in dealing with Mr X’s planning enforcement complaint. Action has now been taken in relation to the substance of Mr X’s complaint and to address delays within the Planning Enforcement team as a whole.
The Council also agreed to formally write to Mr X, within 20 working days, to:
• Explain the reasons for the lack of action by the Council between September 2019 until the present time;
• Explain the details of the improvements that the Council has stated it has made in its Planning Enforcement team, and the learning points from Mr X’s complaint;
• Clarify the reason for its enforcement decision (that is, the issuing of an enforcement notice rather than stop notice);
• Clarify how Mr X should report any future noise issues (including confirming whether matters sit with planning enforcement or environmental health statutory nuisance processes);
• Set out clear arrangements to ensure that there is proactive contact with Mr X; it should be clear at the end of each contact (email or telephone) when Mr X will next hear from the Council;
• Apologise for the delay in progressing the case and the fact that an enforcement notice should have been served sooner;
• Offer a time and trouble payment of £250 to reflect the extra work caused to Mr X in having to pursue his complaint.