The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council has ignored legislation by allowing events to be held on common land since 2015. This is because the complaint is made late and because the legality of the Council’s decision is a matter for the courts.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will call Mrs X, complains about events that the Council has allowed to be held on common land since 2015. Mrs X says the Council have ignored legislation when allowing the events to go ahead and the events have caused harm to the common and caused disruption to residents.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended) The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
I will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint. The Council started allowing events to take place on the common land some seven years ago. It would have therefore been reasonable to have expected Mrs X to complaint when she first became aware of the Council’s decision or soon after.
Furthermore, Mrs X says the Council has ignored legislation protecting common land by allowing the events to go ahead. The Council has told Mrs X the legislation that it believes allows it to hold the events. Any despite about the legality of the Council’s decision is a matter that can only be decided in court.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is made late and is a matter for the courts.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman