Summary: Mr X complains the Council has harassed him over many years in relation to the management of trees at his property which culminated in the Council taking him to court. This has caused Mr X stress and has impacted upon him financially. The Ombudsman will not investigate as much of Mr X’s complaint relates to events which took place more than 12 months ago and there are not good reasons to investigate now. The Ombudsman has no legal remit to investigate the Council’s legal action against Mr X as this has been dealt with in court.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains:
1. the Council harassed him in relation to various issues with tree management on his land prior to 2010,
2. the Council prosecuted him for carrying out unauthorised work to protected trees, and
3. about the Council’s handling of planning applications he submitted in 2010 and 2012.

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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)
3. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)
4. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered what Mr X said in his complaint.

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What I found

6. Mr X complains about problems he has encountered in managing trees on his land prior to 2010. These include the Council preventing him from felling a dangerous tree on his land, serving a tree planting order on him, and placing a tree preservation order on trees on his land.
7. Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of planning applications he submitted in 2010 and 2012. Mr X says he was forced to withdraw his first application as it was set for refusal and that the Council dealt with his second in an unprofessional manner.
8. Mr X complains that in 2019 the Council took legal action against him for unauthorised work to protected trees and that he was found guilty in the Magistrates’ court. Mr X successfully appealed this conviction and now seeks compensation from the Council.

Assessment

9. Mr X’s complaints about harassment relating to tree management issues and planning matters are made late as Mr X has known about these issues since 2012 and before, so for more than 12 months. It is reasonable to have expected Mr X to complain to us at the time these issues arose and given the length of time that has elapsed, it is unlikely we could achieve any meaningful outcome now.
10. We cannot investigate criminal proceedings or what took place in court. Additionally, Mr X challenged the Council’s actions, and the conviction, in court by way of appeal. We have no legal remit to investigate what has already been considered in court.

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Final decision

11. My decision is that the Ombudsman should not investigate Mr X’s complaint about alleged Council harassment and its handling of his planning applications. These complaints are made late and there are not good reasons to investigate now. The Ombudsman cannot investigate the Council’s prosecution of Mr X as this has been dealt with in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman