Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of a wayleave agreement. This is because it is about a commercial transaction relating to industrial or business premises on land the Council owns and leases to the complainant.

The complaint

1. Mr X is unhappy the Council did not issue a wayleave agreement to a telecommunications company to allow him to use a fibre optic broadband service for his business. He wants the Council to issue the wayleave agreement.

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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.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint if it is about certain commercial transactions. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5, paragraph 3, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
5. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

6. A wayleave agreement is a contract between a landowner and a service provider. In this case it relates to a communication network provider’s installation of digital infrastructure on Council owned land, on part of which Mr X occupies an industrial or business unit under lease or tenancy from the Council.
7. The provider having a wayleave agreement would be able to supply Mr X with broadband services for his business. This is therefore a commercial matter we are legally prevented from investigating.
8. Even if the above was not the case, the Council has now confirmed it has asked the company to send it the required wayleave agreement, so the Ombudsman’s involvement could not achieve anything more.

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Final decision

9. We cannot investigate Mr X’s complaint because it relates to a commercial matter the law says we cannot investigate.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman