CHESHIRE East Council has been warned that complaints will continue to rain in on the local authority after the huge amount of complaints relating to the council’s planning department has been highlighted.

The Local Government Ombudsman has released the latest figures showing the amount of complaints about local authorities which have been dealt with by the Ombudsman.

The figures show that 117 complaints were received about Cheshire East Council last year, placing the council in the top 10 per cent for amount of complaints made – 36th out of 363.

However, 45 of those complaints were in regards to planning and development and that places Cheshire East Council second in the country behind Cornwall Council (53) for complaints received in this area.

The Local Government Ombudsmen upheld 41 per cent of the complaints about Cheshire East Council.

Cllr Jonathan Parry, member of Middlewich Town Council, said the number of complaints made about the borough council comes as no surprise.

Cllr Parry said: “It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest because I know so many people who have put complaints in about them.

“At the moment it’s not operating right, there’s too many things being done behind the scenes.

“It’s no surprise with what’s gone on over the past few years.

“They’ve had senior officers being suspended, the leader resigning after a huge contract scandal and now we have police investigations.

“ It needs a complete over haul.

“Each time I think they’ll learn their lesson after this controversy but then another thing comes up.

“To know that there are so many planning applications being passed on false air quality figures that have been deliberately altered is infuriating.

“There are a lot of questions that need to be asked. A lot of complaints have gone in and will keep going in because residents are sick to the back teeth of them.”

Cheshire East Council was not able to provide a comment at the time the Guardian went to press.