Cheshire East Council misled the public on a planning application to change the use of some agricultural land in the Crewe area.
A report by the Local Government Ombudsman has upheld a complaint that the council withheld important information to the public during the consultation period – but later made it available on its website and backdated it.
The Ombudsman has recommended the council take professional advice on what options are now available in relation to the granted application – and consider revoking the approval if it is an option.
Local Government Ombudsman, Dr Jane Martin, said: "I am deeply concerned about the council's administrative and decision making processes in this case. The application was flawed and should not have been considered in the first instance, but despite that, it gave alarmingly significant weight to the applicant's own testament regarding the previous use of the site.
"What is more concerning, however, is the council's failure in its duty to properly consult with the community during the process – and the apparent attempt to cover up the error."
The complaint against the council came from local residents who opposed the decision to grant planning to change the use of some agricultural land, near to a public right of way, to allow the parking and storing of vehicles and machinery.
The application was for a Certificate of Lawful Established Use or Development (CLEUD), which allows landowners to apply for permission if an unauthorised activity has been ongoing for a continuous period of 10 years without formal challenge.
Two pieces of key evidence – an aerial photograph and the applicants' statutory declaration that the site had been used for parking vehicles for over 10 years – were not made available for members of the public to comment on during the consultation period.
Following some complaints to the council that documents appeared on its website after the consultation period, but backdated to appear as if they had been uploaded before the deadline, the council maintained that the complainants were incorrect. It wasn't, however, until the Ombudsman's investigation that the council conceded the documents had indeed been posted after the consultation period.
As well as reviewing the decision, the Ombudsman has recommended that the council apologise to the complainants, pay £500 to each of the three complainants for their time and frustration in pursuing the case, and undertake staff training on CLEUD applications.
On receipt of a draft of this report the Council's Chief Executive said: "I can only reiterate that we apologise for not responding in a more timely and helpful manner previously and emphasise that we are taking the issue of customer interface within the planning service very seriously and have undertaken a review of the service with a focus on customer issues which will lead to changes in both culture and practice."
Dr Jane Martin added: "I am pleased that the council has responded positively to the report, made assurances to avoid future issues on community consultation and is going to take independent advice on the validity of the planning approval."
Cllr Michael Jones, Leader of Cheshire East Council, commented today "The Local Government Ombudsman report and press release is very disappointing. It is a legacy matter, we have already learnt our lesson from this. The behaviour was not acceptable and the director involved is no longer with the Council.
Cllr Jones added "I believe the original issue occurred in 2008 and the complaints were made in 2011, I only found out about this in January/February 2013."
Updated: 15th May
Cheshire East Council have today issued the following statement about the Local Government Ombudsman's report.
Councillor Rachel Bailey, Cheshire East Council Cabinet member in charge of development management, said: "First and foremost, I want to apologise on behalf of the Council to local residents over the regrettable flaws in the process to reach this planning decision in December 2011.
"This planning issue is a historical matter that is the legacy of an officer who is no longer employed by the Council.
"We accept the conclusions and recommendations of the report and are implementing them fully.
"We maintain that there was no deliberate concealment or that we meant to mislead the public. However, it is highly regrettable that not only were the documents not available prior to the end of the consultation but that we did initially believe that they had been.
"Much has changed positively in the Council since then. As a result, this is a Council with new energy and new people and where poor service to the people of Cheshire East will simply not be tolerated.
"Under our new leadership we have had a year of fast paced change and this is already showing visible evidence that we are listening to residents' and acting quickly to make improvement s for the people of Cheshire East.
"The Council is changing and improving the way it works to deliver first-class services for its residents. We are committed to getting things right – and right first time – for the people of Cheshire East."
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
The Ombudsman found many other things wrong than what was included in her report.
I am astounded that the leader of the council had no knowledge of this until the report is about to be published.
This was all brought about by the arrogance of the officers of Cheshire East. If they had listened to the complainants and investigated their complaints this would have been settled long before. The excuse of a back log within the planning department does not hold water..