TEIGNBRIDGE Council has been given a pat on the back in the Local Government Ombudsman's annual review.

In the past year the Ombudsman received 16 complaints and enquiries about the district authority – four fewer than the corresponding 12 months and there were no cases of maladministration.

Eight were about planning and building control, two about public finance including local taxation, two about transport and highways and four concerned other matters.

The Ombudsman treated five of the complaints as premature, referring them to the council, and the remaining ten were referred to the investigative team, of which four were premature complaints which had been resubmitted.

Of the complaints, one was settled locally. It was a case where the council had failed to notify the owner of a neighbouring property about a planning application.

The Ombudsman found that although proper notification would have had no effect on the outcome of the application, the complainant was denied the opportunity to object. The council agreed to pay the complainant £100, and to review its procedures for neighbour notification.

The report of the Ombudsman goes before Tuesday's Teignbridge Council Standards Committee.