A council has been ordered to apologise and pay compensation to a resident for failing to follow its own planning policy.

The Local Government Ombudsman rapped Swale's officers on the knuckles after granting permission for a extension which had windows overlooking a neighbour.

Planners at the authority gave permission for the extension to have two side windows at the ground floor and one at the first floor, which faced onto the patio belonging to the property next door.

As as part of its adopted Local Plan Policy, the council has design guidance that says that side windows in extensions should be avoided to reduce overlooking and loss of privacy, although certain exceptions, such as glazed windows in a bathroom could be acceptable.

The owner of the neighbouring property, referred to as Mr B, complained the council had failed to consider the impact the windows would have on his privacy, and said that when they were open he could even hear the conversation inside his neighbour's house.

The ombudsman, Michael King, found that the planning officer's report had referred to the first floor window as being acceptable, because it was frosted glass, but he could not find any evidence that the council had considered the other windows.

In its defence, the council argued that there was no over-looking between the properties because of a boundary fence, but Mr King pointed out that Mr B had since paid to have the fence erected himself.

The council also said Mr B had not objected to the design at the planning application. The ombudsman said that was irrelevant because it was the council's duty to consider the impact on neighbours whether or not they complained.

He ordered Swale to apologise to Mr B, to pay him the cost of erecting the fence and to pay an additional £100 to compensate him.

Finally, the ombudsman recommended that Swale's planning officers be reminded of the need to properly record their views on all issues where an application would potentially breach planning guidance.

It is not the first time Swale's planners have blundered.

Back in November, 2021, the council failed to stop a 20m-high 5G phone mast being erected in Queenborough Road at Halfway, despite a large number of public objections, simply because it didn't respond to the application within the 56-day period set by law.

It subsequently had to apologise for its "failure to determine this application in the correct way".

Weeks earlier, Swale council officials were left red-faced after a junior staff member was unwittingly let loose on approving and rejecting planning notices, with one applicant, the Happy Pants animal sanctuary, told their scheme was turned down because: “Your proposal is whack.”

On that occasion, making good the mistaken planning decisions cost £8,000.