Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about noise nuisance, planning breaches and breaches of licensing restrictions from a neighbouring hotel premises. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about disturbance from a neighbouring hotel which she says she has been suffering since 2017 when she moved in. She says she has made several complaints about noise nuisance from loud music and customers outside, erection of a chimney without planning permission and poor maintenance of a boundary fence which she says is unsightly and breaches the deeds of the hotel site. She wants the Council to take action over these matters so that she is not disturbed by them in future.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Miss X moved into her home in 2017. She says that since that time she has suffered from noise nuisance and disturbance from the hotel premises next door. She involved the Council’s environmental services over noise issues in 2019 and again in 2023 and 2024. She also made complaints about planning breaches with regard to a chimney and fence erected on the site.
6. The Council says it has taken recordings at various times and its officers have visited the site but no statutory nuisance was observed. Its officers were unable to access her property but it says that if the noise was not a nuisance outside and nearer the hotel it would not be in her home further away. The hotel has had a licence to permit live music, recorded music, dance and entertainment since 2005. Miss X wants the licence to be revoked but the Council says it has not experienced complaints about activities carried out under the licence terms in the previous 19 years.
7. The Council says that it responded to Miss X’s complaint about the planning requirements for the chimney in August 2020 and she did not raise any further complaint. Miss X also submitted a complaint to us in 2020 about her planning concerns but it was premature and she did not follow it up further.
8. Miss X first involved the Council’s Environmental protection team in 2019 and has since made complaints about noise to the Council and to us in 2023. She made another complaint in 2024 and a formal compalint through the complaints system which was responded to at Stage 1 in March 2024. She did not complain to us until April 2025 which is outside the normal 12-month period for receiving complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner and she did make two initial complaints in 2020 and 2023 which were not pursued.
9. If Miss X wanted to make a formal request for a review of the premises licence she could have done so under the Licensing Act 2003 at any time in the previous years. She may still be able to do so if she has evidence of breaches in the recent past. The review is part of a Council’s licensing function.

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Final decision

10. We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about noise nuisance, planning breaches and breaches of licensing restrictions from a neighbouring hotel premises. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman