Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s failure to ensure a business stops storing bins on the highway. This is because the complaint is made too late. We have seen no reason why the complainant could not have contacted us much sooner.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains the Council has failed to take action against a commercial property owner for keeping bins on the public highway.
2. She says she has been complaining about this since 2015.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. 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

5. I considered information provided by Mrs X.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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Final decision

7. We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because she has been aware of the matter complained of for ten years. Her complaint is therefore late. The Council directed her to the Ombudsman Service in 2021 so there is no reason why she could not have complained much sooner.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman