Mr D’s story
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Mr D had a barn on his land, which he converted into his home. The local council said that Mr D had built a dwelling without planning permission and told him that he must demolish his home. Mr D appealed against that decision. When the Planning Inspectorate considered Mr D’s case, they decided that Mr D should not be granted planning permission for the changes he had made to the barn.
Mr D appealed to the High Court, who decided that the Planning Inspectorate had made an error in their decision. The High Court quashed the decision, which meant that Mr D’s case had to be considered afresh. The Planning Inspectorate advised Mr D that they would consider making a payment to meet the reasonable costs he incurred in pursuing the redetermination.
The Planning Inspectorate reconsidered Mr D’s case but they refused to grant him planning permission. Mr D was given one year to demolish his home or turn it back into a barn. Mr D wrote to the Planning Inspectorate to make a claim for £22,418 for the costs he had incurred pursuing the redetermination. In response, the Planning Inspectorate said that despite their previously published guidance, they had decided not to offer any payments unless the Ombudsman recommended that they do so.
After the Ombudsman’s investigation, the Planning Inspectorate apologised to Mr D and paid his costs of £22,418, with interest, along with £500 in recognition of the inconvenience they had caused him. Mr D told us that he had used that money to turn his home back into a barn.
