The Isle of Wight Council has had to fork out more than £1,000 and apologise to an Island woman over a planning error.
The department failed to consider the privacy of neighbours in a development, which converted a chapel into flats, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) has ruled.
Garden overlooked
A woman known only as Mrs B raised the complaint with the Ombudsman after the council approved tall, clear, glazed windows for the former chapel that overlooked her garden.
When publishing details of the complaints, the LGSCO withholds personal information, so the location of the converted chapel and Mrs B house is unknown.
Plans approved in 2018
The authority approved the flat conversion in 2018, which included adding an extra floor. The design of the windows was approved in 2020.
Mrs B complained to the Isle of Wight Council in 2021 and said the new development would ‘severely harm the privacy of her garden’, particularly from the first floor.
The authority told Mrs B it had not considered the impact of the new floor in 2018 or 2020.
With retrospect, the council said had it done so, it was likely it would have insisted the windows have frosted glass.
Cannot reverse planning permission
However, it could not reverse planning permission or insist the developer change the windows at the later stage.
Instead, it wrote to the new residents of the chapel to explain the situation and ask them if they would voluntarily install blinds or frosted film in the windows.
Fears of being overlooked
Mrs B told the LGSCO she now feels she cannot use her garden as the new residents have clear views of it and she fears they can see into her house.
An LGSCO inspector found two instances of service failure and said it was clear the shortcomings have harmed Mrs B’s privacy.
£1,000 for loss of privacy
The Isle of Wight council has been ordered to pay Mrs B a ‘symbolic payment’ of £1,000 in recognition of her loss of privacy and a further £200 for her time and trouble pursuing the matter.
In a statement, the Isle of Wight council said it got it wrong and was sorry to Mrs B for the harm this has caused.
It said it has accepted the LGSCO’s findings and completed them within the timeframe required.
Second complaint
Mrs B also raised another issue with the ombudsman, saying the council did not tell her about the works.
The LGSCO said there was no fault in the way the authority publicised the application and it had no obligation to tell her.
Mrs B also raised an issue about the chapel’s exterior lighting – which ‘interfered with her enjoyment of her home’ – but this is not a planning issue, so it has been referred to the environmental health team.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: Christopher Bill under CC BY 2.0
