Guide to taking part in advertisement appeals

16 Complaints and challenges

Complaints about us

If you have any complaints or questions about the decision, or the way we
have handled the appeal, please write to:

We will investigate your complaint and you can expect a full reply within three
weeks. However, we can’t reconsider an appeal if we have already given a
decision on it. This can only happen if you successfully challenge the decision
in the High Court.

The High Court

The only way you can appeal against our decision, is for legal reasons in the
High Court. You must then appeal to the High Court. To be successful you
would have to show that:

• our officer, or the First Secretary of State, or in Wales the National
  Assembly for Wales, had gone beyond their powers;
• we had overlooked your rights under common law;
• we did not follow the proper procedures and so damaged your
  interests.

If your challenge is successful, the High Court will overturn our original
appeal decision and return the case to us. We will look at the appeal again.
This does not necessarily mean that we will reverse our original decision. We
may come to the same decision but for different or more detailed reasons.
If you are going to challenge our decision, you must apply to the High Court
within six weeks from the date of our decision letter. We will send you a
leaflet explaining your right to challenge with our appeal decision letter.

The Welsh Administration Ombudsman

In Wales, if you think that we have not treated you fairly, you can ask the
Ombudsman to investigate. You can contact him or her directly, but the
Ombudsman will expect you to have made a complaint to us first before he or
she investigates your case.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (the Ombudsman)

In England, if you think that we have not treated you fairly, you can ask the
Ombudsman to investigate. You can’t approach the Ombudsman direct - an
MP must do it for you. This does not have to be your MP but this will usually
be the easiest person to ask. Your local library will be able to give you the
name and address of your MP. The Ombudsman has no power to question the
merits of your appeal or to alter the decision. He or she is only concerned with
the way we deal with appeals. The Ombudsman will usually expect you to
have made a complaint to us first before he or she investigates your case.

Administrative Justice & Tribunals Council

If you feel that there was something wrong with the basic procedure we used
for your appeal, you can complain to Administrative Justice & Tribunals Council at:

Administrative Justice & Tribunals Council,
81 Chancery Lane,
London,
WC2A 1BQ.

The council will take up your complaint if they think it concerns them. Like
the Ombudsman, they are not concerned with the merits of your appeal and
have no power to alter the decision.

The Local Government Ombudsman

If you have a complaint about the way the LPA dealt with your planning
application, you can, in some cases, ask the Local Government Ombudsman to
investigate. However, the Local Government Ombudsman can’t investigate a
complaint about a planning decision just because you and the LPA do not
agree about it and the Ombudsman has no power to alter the decision. You can
get a booklet explaining how to make a complaint by writing to the appropriate
Local Government Ombudsman’s office.

There are three Local Government Ombudsmen in England and one in Wales.
Each of them deals with complaints from different parts of the country.

For Greater London:

Local Government Ombudsman
21 Queen Anne’s Gate
London
SW1H 9BU

Phone: 0207 915 3210
Fax: 0207 233 0396

For Surrey, Kent, Sussex, East Anglia, the south-west, the west, the south and
most of central England:

Local Government Ombudsman
The Oaks No 2
Westwood Way
Westwood Business Park
Coventry
CV4 8JB

Phone: 02476 695 999
Fax: 02476 695 902

For Birmingham, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire,
Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and the north of England:

Local Government Ombudsman
Beverley House
17 Shipton Road
York
YO30 5FZ

Phone: 01904 663 200
Fax: 01904 663 269

For Wales:

Local Government Ombudsman
Derwen House
Court Road
Bridgend
CF31 1BN

Phone 01656 661325

We also deal with other types of appeal.

If you are appealing against an enforcement notice, this is who you should
contact.

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