Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to issue Mr X a Community Protection Notice and refuse his application to have it discharged. This is because Mr X had the right to appeal to the Magistrate Court against the notice and we consider it reasonable for him to have exercised this right.

The complaint

1. Mr X says the Council issued an unlawful Community Protection Notice (CPN) based on false allegations. He says the Council refused to properly consider or explain its decision when he asked it to vary or discharge the notice. Mr X says he missed the deadline to appeal to the Magistrates’ Court because the Council delayed responding to his request. He says the Council’s actions caused him significant distress and worsened his mental health. He also says the Council treated him unreasonably by restricting how he could contact it and asks for accountability for the staff involved.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. The Council issued Mr X with a CPN on 24 July 2025. Mr X applied for the CPN to be discharged on 27 July 2025. The Council refused this request on 5 August 2025 and advised Mr X to appeal to the Magistrates’ Court.
7. A Community Protection Notice is a legal tool that Councils or the police use to address persistent, unreasonable behaviour that has a detrimental effect on a community. A person who receives a CPN has the right to appeal it to the Magistrates’ Court within 21 days of service.
8. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint because the evidence shows the Council considered and responded to his request to discharge the CPN within the time limit in which he could have appealed to the court, we consider it reasonable for him to have exercised this right.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint this is because he could reasonably have exercised his right of appeal to the Magistrates Court. The complaint falls outside our jurisdiction and will not be investigated.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman