The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint alleging damage to the complainant’s property. This is because the complaint does not meet the tests in our Assessment Code on how we decide which complaints to investigate. The complaint is made too late, and we have seen no reason to exercise discretion in this case.
The complaint
The complainant, I shall call Mr X, says the Agency undercut the riverbank in his garden when it carried out work to de-silt the river in 2016.
He says the river now occupies land which was formerly part of his garden. He wants the bank reinstated.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended) 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 an authority has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mr X and the Agency.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because he was aware of the issue in 2016. We have seen no reason to exercise discretion and investigate this late complaint.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman