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Annual Report of the Ombudsman 2004

Chapter 3 - Wexford County Council - Planning Administration Procedures Amended Health Boards

Wexford County Council

Planning Administration Procedures Amended

I received a complaint against Wexford County Council concerning the adequacy of the information it provided to a man who wished to object to An Bord Pleanála regarding a planning decision made by the Council.

He lodged an objection to a planning application and when permission for the development was granted by the Council, he lodged an appeal to An Bord Pleanála (ABP). ABP rejected his appeal as invalid as he had omitted to enclose the receipt received from the Council as proof that he had previously submitted an objection. The explanatory notes provided to him by the Council, when informing him of its decision on the planning application, listed the items which should accompany an appeal to ABP, but did not mention the requirement to include the acknowledgement slip issued by the Council.

The Council confirmed to me that an objection had been lodged and the relevant fee paid. It informed me that a letter issued to the objector acknowledging receipt of the objection and advising him that the letter and receipt should be retained as they would be needed in the event of an appeal to ABP. The Council subsequently notified the objector of the decision on the planning application and took the view that he already had been advised that the acknowledgement and receipt of objection would be required in the event of his lodging an appeal to ABP.

I accepted that the Council had indeed notified the objector, as stated. However, I considered that the explanatory notes issued by the Council, which included a checklist of items to be included in an appeal to ABP, should also include the acknowledgement receipt in this list. I asked the Council to review its forms and procedures in this area.

Wexford County Council responded by amending its explanatory notes and its letter of notification of planning decisions. As a result of this complaint and the co-operation of the Council, I am satisfied that there is now less possibility of confusion and the outcome will assist in bringing further clarity to the planning process.

During the year I also dealt with a complaint against Laois County Council which raised similar issues but in this particular case the Council had failed to notify the complainants, at any stage, of the importance of submitting the acknowledgement receipt with their appeal to ABP. The complainants also raised questions about the adequacy of the information provided regarding the fees payable which, they alleged, resulted in their submitting an incorrect fee in respect of their appeal. As a result of my intervention, the Council agreed to amend its forms and notification procedures and it also agreed to make a payment of €250 as redress for its failure to notify the complainants of the full details of the appeals process to ABP.

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