Decision details

Cabinet received a report of the Group Head of Democracy and Governance which included a final decision from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

The Mayor invited Councillor Dychton to introduce the report.

Councillor Dychton advised that the report was in relation to a complaint from a resident around a noise nuisance. The issue was investigated by officers and the planning team were involved. There had unfortunately been a lack of communication between the two departments which resulted in the issue being unresolved for too long.  The Ombudsman’s findings were that the lack of communication in this case had impacted the resident. Lessons had been learnt and measures put in place to avoid repetition. She noted that the issue had taken place some time ago when workloads were particularly challenging due to Covid. Officers remained dedicated to resolving complaints quickly.

The Mayor asked if there was confidence that the issue would not be repeated. The Associate Director of Housing and Wellbeing noted that such delays would be identified in case reviews with managers. In this instance, there had been a difficult balance between the planning process and the business being able to continue trading. Officers were required to mitigate the impact of this on residents. A Senior Environmental Health Officer now attended monthly planning meetings to ensure effective joint-working and alleviate communication issues.

RESOLVED –

1.         that the decision be noted.