Cornwall Council (17 014 828)
Summary: Mr B complains the Council has delayed unnecessarily in processing his application to register a new village green, which he initially submitted in 2008. He also complains it failed to update him on the progress of the application.
Finding
The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.
Recommendations
To remedy the injustice caused, we recommend the Council:
- makes a decision on whether to hold a public inquiry within two months of the date of this report;
- writes to Mr B and sincerely apologises for the failures mentioned in this statement. In its apology, it should provide assurances these failures will not happen again and make a commitment to prioritise his application and deal with it in an expeditious manner;
- provides a written update to Mr B once a month on the status of his application until this is determined. It should not wait until he requests this update and should set a recurring reminder so it proactively carries out this task; and
- pays Mr B £300 for the uncertainty caused by its fault and a further £300 for his time and trouble in making this complaint.
Ombudsman satisfied with Council's response: 15 May 2019