Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (24 004 591)
Category : Environment and regulation > Noise
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 25 Nov 2024
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about complaint about noise nuisance since 2022. The complaint is late. We have seen no reason why the complainant could not have come to use much sooner.
The complaint
- Mrs X says she has been complaining since 2022 about noise nuisance from the building next to her home. The building is used for storage and office space by the pub next door.
- Mrs X says the noise has caused mental stress and loss of privacy and increased electric bills.
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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mrs X.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mrs X says the Council has failed to resolve noise issues that she and her neighbours have been reporting since 2022.
- The law says a complaint should be made to us within 12 months of when someone became aware of the matter they wish to complain about. This is not when they first complained to the Council or when it issued its final response.
- In this case Mrs X did not complain to us within 12 months from when she first became aware of the lack of action on the noise nuisance.
- The Environmental Protection Act 1990 places a duty on councils to investigate reports of nuisance and to take reasonable steps to investigate any complaints of statutory nuisance that it receives. In this case the Council investigated the reports. It installed noise monitoring equipment in Mrs X’s home. After reviewing the recordings its officers concluded there was no statutory noise nuisance.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it is late and we have seen no reason why she could not have complained to us much sooner.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman