WIREDGOV

Selby District Council has been told to apologise to a couple after officers failed to take into consideration their objection to a planning application.

The couple complained to the LGO that the council failed to take into consideration their objections when their neighbour applied to add a single storey to his cottage only 3.5 metres from their home.

The pair, who live in a barn conversion, objected because the extension would completely block the view from their kitchen-dining room window, drastically reducing light into the room.

The application was approved by planners at the council using their delegated powers, and after the permission was granted the couple sought the advice of a specialist planning consultant.

However, when responding to the LGO’s enquiries, the council could offer no evidence that it had considered the effect the extension would have on the couple’s kitchen diner, or that officers had considered their objection letter.

At a late stage of the LGO’s investigation, officers said the extension could have been built using permitted development rights. Had the permitted development issue been addressed much sooner, the couple would have avoided the time, trouble and expense of pursuing their complaint and the expense of a planning consultant.

The LGO has recommended that the council apologise to the couple and pay them £1,896 for the cost of their planning consultant’s fees. It should also offer the couple £250 for the time and trouble they have gone to in bringing their complaint to the LGO.