The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to grant a residential property a licence to operate a dog business. This is because an investigation would be unlikely to result in finding fault with the Council’s actions.
The complaint
Mrs X complained the Council failed to consider the impact to her of granting a local residential home a licence to operate a dog business.
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 impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mrs X has been complaining about the Council’s decision to grant a licence to a dog business being run from a residential home since 2024. She told the Council the noise coming from the business was negatively affecting her.
The Council advised that current legislation does not prevent residential properties from being licensed to run a business. The Council has since confirmed that it is working with Mrs X to determine whether there is a statutory noise nuisance taking place at the business and Mrs X is to provide noise logs to aid the Council with this.
Mrs X remains unhappy with the situation and wants us to find the Council at fault. The Council has explained to Mrs X that it was permitted by current statutory guidance and legislation to grant the licence. There is no evidence the Council has failed to follow the appropriate guidance in agreeing to grant the licence. An investigation would therefore be unlikely to result in finding fault with the Council’s actions.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because an investigation would be unlikely to find fault with the Council’s actions.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman