Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the Council failing to enforce planning conditions relating to noise from a quarry. The complaint is made too late and there is no good reason to investigate it now.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Mr B, has complained the Council has not enforced planning conditions attached to planning permission for a quarry near his home.

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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. It says 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 have considered what Mr B said in his complaint and background information provided by the Council. Mr B commented on a draft before I made this decision.

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What I found

4. The Council is the Mineral Planning Authority and granted planning permission for work at a quarry in 2007. It attached conditions to the permission requiring monitoring of noise levels.
5. Mr B moved to a property near to the quarry in 2013. He says the Council has been aware of breaches of the planning conditions for six years.
6. In 2015 Mr B complained to us that the district council had not acted to deal with statutory nuisance from the quarry relating to noise and vibration.
7. Mr B did not complain to us about the County Council until 2019 although he clearly knew he could do so. It is clear this was far more than twelve months from when he was aware of the issue.

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Final decision

8. I have decided we will not investigate this complaint. This is because Mr B has made the complaint too late and I have seen no good reason we should investigate it now.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman