Ombudsman rules Leeds council was 'at fault' for excluding key cladding information in planning report

A report by the Local Government Ombudsman said the local authority failed to mention the zinc cladding that a developer was allowed to install on a new house in a conservation area. The detail should have been mentioned in a 2020 briefing note outlining the decision, which was made by officers. A member of the public later complained about the missing information, saying he would have made representations about the application had he known about the cladding and its visual impact.

The Ombudsman did not say where in the city the property had been built and there are 81 designated conservation areas across Leeds. The council accepted it was at fault for excluding the details but insisted it would have made no difference to its decision to approve the plans, which had originally been given the green light in 2018 before being successfully amended two years later.

In its ruling the Ombudsman said: “The purpose of the (planning) officer’s report is to demonstrate the decision was properly made and due process followed. Without an adequate report, we cannot know whether the council took proper account of the key material planning considerations.”

The report said the council “was at fault for omitting to demonstrate that it had properly considered the impact” of the zinc cladding, though the Ombudsman stressed it was unable to rule on whether or not the decision to give planning permission was wrong.

The local authority has been told to write to the complainant, accepting fault in recognition of the “frustration and inconvenience” he suffered. A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: “Whilst we do not comment on individual cases, we have amended our process to make it clearer what amendments to building materials are being proposed.”