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Land Maladministration causing injustice
02 July 2008
Cherwell District Council wrongly placed a couple’s property on the Land Charges Register. The Ombudsman says the circumstances of the case were complicated, commenting “It was imperative that the Council made further enquiries to establish the relationship of the buildings...”. It failed to do so. As a result, the couple reasonably incurred costs from obtaining professional advice to protect their interests. ‘Mr and Mrs Murray’ (not their real names for legal reasons) complain about the Council’s decision that their properties were in the curtilage of a listed building, and to place a Part 10 Local Land Charges listed building entry in the Land Charges Register. The investigation found that the charge was not properly made as officers failed to apply the tests set out in Government guidance and relied upon inadequate evidence in determining that the properties were curtilage listed. The Council’s failure to notify Mr and Mrs Murray that the charge had been placed was also maladministration. The Murrays incurred significant costs in taking professional advice to protect their interests. The Ombudsman finds maladministration causing injustice and recommends that the Council:
Date Updated: 21/10/08
are in .pdf format. To view these files you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader software. It can be downloaded below free of charge. Click To Download