The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s delay in enforcement action on land next to Mr X’s home. Complaints about events occurring before 2024 are made too late and we have seen no good reason to investigate them now. The Council has served an Enforcement Notice against the current unauthorised use of the land. The landowner has appealed against the Notice and we have not seen enough evidence of fault in the Council’s decision to await the outcome of the appeal before taking further action.
The complaint
Mr X complains the Council has allowed unauthorised use of land next to his home.
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) 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 Mr X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Mr X complains the Council has not taken action against breaches of planning control on land next to his home which he first reported in 2020.
The law says a complaint must be made to us within 12 months of a person becoming aware of the matter. Mr X did not contact us until November 2025. I have seen no reason why Mr X could not have complained to us much sooner about events which occurred five years ago.
The Council has served an Enforcement Notice against the current breaches of planning control on the site. The landowner has appealed against this decision; therefore the Notice is suspended until the appeal is decided and the Council cannot act.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because it is too late to complain about events which occurred more than a year ago. And we have not seen enough evidence of fault in the Council not taking enforcement action while the appeal against the Enforcement Notice is ongoing.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman