Local Government

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council failed to provide an applicant with the reasons why its Planning Committee deferred a decision on his planning application.  An Ombudsman’s report was also critical of excessive delays when responding to the applicant’s concerns.

The Ombudsman has criticised aspects of the way Mid & East Antrim Borough Council handled a planning application for an update of existing sports facilities at St Patrick’s College, Ballymena.

The Ombudsman has found that an application to build a residential nursing home in County Down was, in part, incorrectly assessed by planners.

The Ombudsman has upheld a complaint about the way planning officials within Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council dealt with changes to a planning application for a new dwelling.

An investigation by the Public Services Ombudsman has found that Mid & East Antrim Borough Council dealt properly with a planning application for a house extension, despite objections from the applicant’s neighbours.

A man’s complaint about how his planning application was dealt with has been partially upheld by the Public Services Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman has found that a Council provided a planning applicant with misleading and inaccurate information about his application, and has made a series of recommendations for remedy.  

A local Council has been asked by the Ombudsman to apologise to a complainant after an investigation found they failed to follow their own Financial Regulations during a process to appoint a company for a public event.