UNDER-fire Poole Council is back in the spotlight.

The dust has not yet settled on the furore which broke out after the Daily Echo revealed that Borough of Poole was using legislation to tackle terrorism to spy on families suspected of abusing school catchment areas.

Just after cabinet confirmed the council will not do that again, planning has come under investigation. Council bosses decided they had no choice but to act, following months of rumours and allegations.

“There is still a lot of deep seated unhappiness over planning,” said one man who was caught up in its tentacles.

Ian Walker took the council to the Ombudsman over a planning application for which the council was found guilty of maladministration causing him injustice.

He objected to an application for two semi-detached houses replacing a bungalow next to his home in Excelsior Road. The proposed new houses had two storeys at the front but three at the rear and permission was granted due to a misunderstanding over the number of storeys.

As a result he was paid £750 compensation for his “justified uncertainty and outrage and for his time and trouble”.

At the time he called for the resignation of planning chairman Cllr Mrs Ann Stribley – who was not criticised in the report – and for the application to be reassessed.

Neither has happened. “I am still looking for her to resign and I am taking further action,” said Mr Walker.

He is not the only resident seeking redress over planning issues.

The Ombudsman’s report for the year ending March 2008 revealed that of the 48 complaints made by residents about the council, 18 were about planning.

And from July to September the planning department registered 14 complaints – and two further complaints were referred to the Ombudsman.

Whitecliff residents have complained to the Ombudsman about the council granting itself planning permission to use the temporary cabins on the open space to house Fourways Day Centre users while their Constitution Hill Road site was redeveloped.

However, plans for the £3.5 million plus rebuild have been delayed after the developers, hit by the credit crunch, withdrew and the cabins have been empty since the doctors left it in May.

“It’s a minefield,” said resident Barbara Plumbridge about planning issues. “There are so many of us that are very concerned.”

Luscombe Valley residents have gone a step further and sought a judicial review into the actions of planners who refused two applications for blocks of flats next to the nature reserve and approved a third.

They are seeking to overturn the “perverse” decision, which they say will ruin a Poole beauty spot, and a judge has given the go-ahead for a costly full High Court hearing.

The year began with the council burying a controversial privately-funded proposal for the world’s largest time piece, the Solar Pyramid, after a storm of protest from Baiter residents.

It looks to be ending with serious concerns raised nationally about the workings of a department which affects every resident and has an impact on the future prosperity of the town.