The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to respond to Mrs X’s requests for it to require her neighbour to carry out drainage works. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.
The complaint
Mrs X complained about the Council’s failure take action against her neighbour to prevent flooding on the highway and her land due to blocked drainage ditches. She says the Council has taken no action in six years of complaining.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 the information provided by the complainant and the Council’s response.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X says the ditches on her neighbours farm boundary are blocked and have caused flooding to her land and the highway for several years. She says the Council initially believed it was her own ditches responsible for the flooding but she provided information about her neighbour’s responsibility in 2018. Since that time, she says the Council has taken no action.
The Council responded to a recent complaint by Mrs X and said it was investigating the matter but could not release information about a third party.
We will not investigate this complaint which concerns matters the complainant was aware of more than 12 months before complaining to us. The time for receiving complaints is from when someone became aware of the matter they wish to complain about, not when they complained to the Council or it issued its final response. We would expect someone to complain to us within a year, even if they were dissatisfied with the time the complaints procedure was taking.
Final decision
We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to respond to Mrs X’s requests for it to require her neighbour to carry out drainage works. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman