Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about how the Council handled a noise complaint. This is because investigation is unlikely to achieve any worthwhile outcome for Mrs X.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council dismissed her complaint about early morning noise from a nearby hardware store, without a proper investigation. This caused her increased anxiety. She wanted the Council to place time restrictions on the hardware store.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse effect on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide the tests set out in our Assessment Code are not met. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

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

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My assessment

5. Mrs X reported a noise complaint due to early morning deliveries to a hardware store near to her property. The council assigned an officer to manage the complaint.
6. Mrs X advised the officer her building suffers from poor noise insulation and that the deliveries lasted around 15 minutes between 6am and 7am. She also sent evidence to the case officer.
7. The Council has accepted it could have done more to investigate and resolve the complaint when Mrs X first reported it, but it has now considered the matter further and explained the noise is unlikely to amount to a statutory nuisance. This decision takes into account the context of the site and other businesses operating nearby. It is a matter of professional judgement, and I have seen no basis for us to question it.
8. The Council has, however. referred Mrs X’s concerns to the Planning Enforcement team to consider any potential breaches of the hardware store’s planning permission.
9. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint further because we could not achieve any worthwhile outcome for her by doing so.
10. Even if we were to find fault in the Council’s original handling of the original complaint, the Council has already taken the appropriate steps to remedy it by investigating further. The Council’s finding that the noise does not amount to a statutory nuisance also means Mrs X has not had to live with any nuisance for longer than she should. We could not therefore say any fault caused her significant injustice.
11. Mrs X remains of the view that the noise is excessive, and she wants the Council to restrict the times the hardware store can accept deliveries. But she has advised us that she is moving out of her property so even if we were to investigate, and even if we did find fault, any recommendation to the Council would provide no benefit to her.

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Final decision

12. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because an investigation is unlikely to add to that already carried out by the Council or lead to a different outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman