The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint that the Council is refusing to sell the complainant land it owns. This is because the complaint is made late and I see no reason it could not have been made sooner.
The complaint
The complainant, who I will call Mr X, complains that the Council refuses to sell him land that it owns.
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)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
In 2017, Mr X told the Council he’d located a plot of land that the Council owned but that was not registered on the Land Registry. Mr X is refusing to disclose where the land is but has offered to purchase the land from the Council. The Council said if Mr X disclosed the location of the land, it would decide if it is likely to sell the land and would then sell the land via open market tender. Mr X has offered to disclose the location of the land for a finders fee, but the Council has refused.
I will not investigate Mr X’s complaint. This is because the Council explained its position about the land in 2017 and again in July 2021, when it referred Mr X to the Ombudsman. I see no reason why Mr X could not have complained sooner and therefore the complaint is made late.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the complaint is made late.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman