Council failed to notify couple about extension

JWhittle

Published at 00:00, Friday, 03 February 2006

‘Harassed’: The Duffells moved out of their home, left, after 29 years, saying the extension, right, led to friction with their neighbours

By Julian Whittle

Political editor

THE local government ombudsman has found Carlisle City Council guilty of “maladministration” and ordered it to pay £500 compensation to victims of a planning blunder.

The council failed to tell Brian and Margaret Duffell when their next-door neighbour in Teasdale Road, Lowry Hill, applied for planning consent for an extension in October 2003.

Instead of telling the Duffells at 19 Teasdale Road that their neighbour at number 21 was planning an extension, it sent letters to 20 and 22 Teasdale Road and 22 Hether Drive, which is immediately behind.

The first the Duffells knew about it was when their neighbour, Mike Wilkinson, began work. By then it was too late to object.

In their complaint the Duffells say that the extension, which projected out two metres, cut light and air into their front living room and bedroom.

The ombudsman’s report says: “They say that the process led to considerable friction with their neighbours. They felt harassed to the extent that they no longer felt happy remaining in the home they had lived in for 29 years.”

The couple have since moved.

Mrs Duffell, 62, told ombudsman Anne Seex that she was treated for stress and forced to give up a part-time job at the Gosling Bridge hotel.

Ms Seex’s report concludes: “The council accepts that it failed to notify the complainants who occupied the property most affected by the proposed development.

“The onus was on the council to ensure consultation and that notification was properly conducted. This it failed to do and that was maladministration.”

The ombudsman adds that there were other “significant failures” but praises the council for changing procedures to prevent a repetition.

Mr Duffell, 64, a tax manager with Armstrong Watson in Carlisle, said: “Compensation wasn’t in our minds when we started this off. Purely and simply we felt we had been let down and wanted to find out exactly why it happened.”

A council spokeswoman said:“We appreciate that in this instance there was an error and steps have been taken to reduce the risk of it happening again.”

Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk